By GREGORY ZELLER //
A massive philanthropical gift will help increase diversity among Stony Brook University STEM students.
The university announced Wednesday that the New York City-based Simons Foundation and its sister foundation, The Simons Foundation International, have gifted $56.6 million to create the Stony Brook Simons STEM Scholars Program – a comprehensive combination of scholarships, housing stipends and research awards backing 50 students per year.
The idea, according to SBU, is to “vastly bolster and improve the pathway to STEM careers for underrepresented students at the university,” with the program set to launch with the Fall 2023 semester.
The $56.6 million gift is the largest Simons Foundation donation under new President David Spergel, who took the foundation’s reins in October 2021 and called SBU an “ideal partner” for the science-, technology-, engineering- and mathematics-focused effort.
At a press conference trumpeting the new donation, Spergel said he was “incredibly proud” to back a diversity-fueled program “that I believe will have a significant impact on so many lives.”
He also eschewed traditional references to a “STEM pipeline,” noting a pipeline usually has one way in, one way out, a constant flow and even the occasional leak.
“I think this is the wrong metaphor,” Spergel said. “We should instead think about building a highway system, with many points of entry, an exit and multiple paths exploring many different directions.
“There’s no one right way to go, no one right destination, no one right way in.”
Diverse directions: Instead of a “pipeline,” some envision a highway with multiple points of entry.
The Stony Brook Simons STEM Scholars Program is a big step in that direction, according to the foundation president.
“The scientific and educational communities must work together to find, train and support underrepresented scientists and mathematicians,” Spergel added. “Stony Brook University has shown a real commitment already to access and opportunity.”
Students qualifying for the scholars program will receive full four-year academic scholarships and be eligible for dedicated on-campus housing, extended research/internship opportunities, research funding and – for incoming freshmen – a Summer Bridge Program designed to help students acclimate to the university and “become part of the Stony Brook Simons STEM Scholar community before formal coursework begins,” according to SBU.
They will also receive academic/career advising and peer/faculty mentoring, along with alumni-powered networking support, exclusive access to off-campus learning opportunities and stipends for program-related travel and study-abroad opportunities.
Stony Brook University President Maurie McInnis, who counts “200 future STEM leaders on our campus … at any given time,” said the university “could not be more excited and grateful to enter this new partnership with the Simons Foundation.”
Jim and Marilyn Simons: Right where STEM students belong.
“The Stony Brook Simons STEM Scholars Program will allow young people to reach their potential as they bring new, much-needed diversity of perspective to science and innovation,” the university president added. “I cannot wait to welcome our first cohort to Stony Brook in 2023.”
The hefty eight-digit gift continues the Simons Foundation’s long legacy of supporting STEM educational programs. For instance, since 2004, the foundation has given more than $200 million to Math for America, a NYC-based nonprofit organization founded in 2004 by mathematician and billionaire hedge fund manager Jim Simons to strengthen the professional acumen of math and science teachers.
Earlier this year, the Simons Foundation also gifted $4 million to the CUNY Graduate Center to promote student diversification in the field of astrophysics – an issue near and dear to Spergel, the Charles A. Young Professor of Astronomy on the Class of 1897 Foundation, Emeritus, at Princeton University and founder of the New York City-based Center for Computational Astrophysics.
Jim Simons and his wife, Simons Foundation Co-founder and Co-chairperson Marilyn Simons, said in a statement they were “incredibly proud to be part of a program like this,” predicting “positive implications not just for Stony Brook, but for New York State and the broader scientific and mathematical communities.”
“We’re proud to see the foundation taking steps to increase diversity in STEM fields,” the co-chairs added. “The support network, tightknit community and sense of belonging that students will find in this program will be life-changing.”
