The campus of Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York, consists of 213 buildings over of land. It is the largest public university in the state of New York in terms of land area. The campus was moved to Stony Brook in 1962 after originating in Oyster Bay, New York.
The Stony Brook University campus area is a census-designated place (CDP), with a population of 10,409 at the 2020 census. As of the 2020 census, the U.S. Census Bureau defines the Stony Brook University CDP as a census-designated place separate from the CDP of Stony Brook. The Census Bureau began defining the Stony Brook University CDP in the 2010 census. In previous censuses, the Census Bureau did not place the university property in a CDP. 1990 U.S. census: Index map, with university area on pages 38, 39, 57, and 58
The municipality containing the university is Town of Brookhaven. The university is not located in a village.
The campus is divided into numerous sections, with County Route 97 (Nicolls Road) dividing the university's West and East campuses. The West Campus, centered around the Academic Mall, includes many of the university's academic buildings, student dormitories and athletic facilities. The East Campus is centered around the Stony Brook University Hospital and other medical-related buildings such as the Health Sciences Center. Additional areas such as the university's Research and Development Park and its Southampton campus were acquired in the 2000s. The campus is bordered to the north and west by New York State Route 25A.
It is accessible via public transportation, with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) operating the Stony Brook station of the Long Island Rail Road on campus. In addition to campus transportation provided by the university, the Suffolk County Transit bus also provides connection from the university to off-campus locations.
History
Stony Brook University was founded in 1957 as the State University College of Long Island and was located in Oyster Bay, New York, before moving to Stony Brook in 1962. Businessman and philanthropist Ward Melville donated 482 acres of land to the Three Village area for a college campus that he envisioned as "Old World" and "pastoral".
The 2000s saw the campus expand with the acquisition of 246 acres of land adjacent to the university from the Gyrodyne Company of America; this area would be developed into the Stony Brook University Research and Development Park. In 2006, the university purchased an 81-acre plot of land formerly belonging to Southampton College and developed it into an additional campus 35 miles away from Stony Brook known as Stony Brook Southampton.
West Campus The West Campus of Stony Brook University is centered around the Academic Mall and includes many of the university's academic buildings, student dormitories and athletic facilities. The Academic Mall is described as "the heart of campus" and is where some of the university's most prominent structures are located near.
Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library
The Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library is the main library at Stony Brook University's West Campus. It opened in 1963 and was soon expanded, more than quadrupling in size by 1971, when the building was dedicated to Frank Melville Jr., the father of Ward Melville. It is located toward the eastern end of the Academic Mall and houses over two million volumes, ranging from government documents to music and film collections. The building is six stories tall and the entire structure encompasses approximately 682,000 square feet of space. It is in use by over fifty different administrative and academic departments. The Melville Library is also home to retail stores such as Shop Red West, a university bookstore, a Starbucks coffee shop, Amazon@Stony Brook (the first Amazon pickup location in the state of New York) and FedEx.
Stony Brook Union The Stony Brook Union is the main student union on campus, located on John S. Toll Drive. It opened in 1970 as the first building on campus dedicated specifically for student life. In the past, the building was known as the "living room of the campus" and home to facilities including a bowling alley, post office, bookstore and campus dining. It used to be the home of Stony Brook's college radio station WUSB as well as University Café, the last-standing bar on campus. The building closed in 2016 before undergoing a three-year, $63.4 million renovation, reopening in 2020. The new Union building is three stories tall, takes up 170,000 square feet and bears modernist and neoclassical architectural styles, with brick, stone, metal and glass finishes. It currently serves over 40 different student and faculty organizations.
Student Activities Center The Student Activities Center, commonly referred to by its acronym The SAC, is a student center located on the Academic Mall. It opened in 1997 and is referred to as "the focal point of the University." The four-story, 135,000-square foot building was designed by architect Kevin Hom, who sought to develop the building as "the portal to the campus", redesigning the Academic Mall and its adjacent roads, known as the Plaza, in order to accommodate the structure. It contains three event venues: two ballrooms and the Sidney Gelber Auditorium. Near the venues is the Sculpture Garden, an outdoor grass courtyard. The building is home to numerous dining options, including the SAC Food Court and the SAC Market, the latter of which opened in 2020. A media wing opened in 2016 to serve publications displaced by the closing of the old Union; it is currently the central location for the offices of student media organizations such as The Statesman.
Simons Center for Geometry and Physics
The Simons Center for Geometry and Physics is a center for theoretical math and physics. It opened in 2010 following a $60 million donation by multi-billionaire Jim Simons, the former chairman of the math department at Stony Brook University and the founder of hedge fund Renaissance Technologies. The donation was the largest to a school in the State University of New York system at the time. The university said that the mission of the Simons Center was “to bring together mathematicians, in particular geometers, and theoretical physicists, to inform and learn from each other, and to work on problems of common interest in order to transform each discipline.” The building stands six stories tall, occupies 39,000 square feet and cost $30 million to construct. It includes 35 faculty offices and space for supporting staff, a faculty commons room, conference rooms, a 250-seat lecture hall, an 80-100-seat seminar room, the Simons Center Café and an atrium. A bridge connects the Simons Center to the Math Tower.
Staller Center for the Arts
The Staller Center for the Arts is the main arts building at Stony Brook. It opened in 1978 and was renamed in 1988 for the Staller family after a $1.8 million donation. It was the largest-ever private donation to the university at the time. The Staller Center is home to the Stony Brook Film Festival, an annual event which provides a program of independent films shown in the building's Main Stage. The festival draws crowds of over 14,000 and takes place over ten days. The Staller Center contains three black box theaters, a recital hall, and a professional 1,000-seat performance stage (the Main Stage) with a 40-foot movie screen. The screen is the largest on Long Island. Roughly 500 events take place in the Staller Center during each season. The Staller Center has hosted speakers and entertainers ranging from Bob Woodward, Bob Saget, Bill Cosby, David Sedaris, Stephanie Kelton, Spike Lee and Yo-Yo Ma. The Staller Center is also home to the Paul W. Zuccaire Gallery, a 5,000-square foot space that showcases professional and student exhibitions.
Charles B. Wang Center
The Charles B. Wang Center is an Asian cultural center which opened in 2002 following a $52 million donation from New York Islanders owner and Computer Associates CEO Charles Wang, which at the time was the largest private donation to any school in the State University of New York system. It was designed by architect P.H. Tuan, who created the center for live performances, films, lectures, seminars, exhibits and other activities. The center hosts numerous art exhibits and cultural events. The center is 120,000 square feet and houses a theater, teleconferencing and lecture halls, galleries, a chapel, multi-use space and pools, gardens, atriums and courtyards for casual gatherings. The building is made of brick and white translucent glass panels designed to symbolize rice paper, which were used for windows in ancient Asian architecture. An 80-foot octagonal tower protruding from the center of the building's roof, which contains 20 roof lights and 56 layers of steel, was designed after an abstract pagoda. In the center's outdoor gardens, an arched bridge with steps is reminiscent of Shanghai temples. The Wang Center is also home to Jasmine, an East Asian food court, as well as Jasmine Market, a 550-square foot mini grocery store that sells international products.
Jacob K. Javits Lecture Center The Jacob K. Javits Lecture Center is one of the main lecture halls on Stony Brook's campus. It opened in 1969 and was named after New York senator Jacob Javits in 1984 "in honor of Senator Javits’ many contributions to education and Stony Brook University" at the suggestion of a student editor at Stony Brook's newspaper The Statesman. The Javits Center is located south of the Academic Mall and contains Javits 100, which is the largest lecture hall on campus, seating 570 people with an additional balcony. The Javits Center also has two 218-seat lecture halls and four 103-seat lecture halls.
The building notably has zero right angles aside from the doors. It underwent a significant $38 million renovation from 2021 to 2023 to modernize the building up to current mechanical, electrical, plumbing and ADA requirements.
Frey Hall
Frey Hall, located between Harriman Hall and the Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library, is the only building on the Stony Brook campus that is solely dedicated to classroom space. It opened in 2013 and was named after Robert J. Frey, a professor at Stony Brook and a former managing director at Renaissance Technologies, in recognition of his family foundation's gifts to the university. The building contains three large lecture halls on the first floor with roughly 250 capacity, and over two dozen classrooms, including a 193-seat active learning classroom and a 68-seat testing center with computers. The Old Chemistry building was shut down in 2011 in order to renovate the structure into Frey Hall.
Harriman Hall
Harriman Hall is home to the Department of Philosophy and the College of Business. It was built in 1975 as the W. Averell Harriman College for Urban and Policy Sciences, named after former New York governor W. Averell Harriman, with a cost of $5 million. It is located on the Academic Mall. The opening of Harriman Hall was said to heighten a rivalry between the public Stony Brook University and private colleges Adelphi University and Hofstra University, neither of which had, according to The New York Times, "a program as comprehensive as the one to be offered at Harriman College." Harriman Hall houses the Innovation Lab, which is partnered with iCREATE (formerly the Research and Technologies Department) and allows students to use machines for laser cutting, 3D printing, digital design, fabrication and sewing.
Earth and Space Sciences Building