MCC Daily Tribune
Dr. Richard L. McCormick Appointed as Stony Brook University Interim President
New York, NY – The State University of New York Board of Trustees Tuesday appointed Dr. Richard L. McCormick as interim president of Stony Brook University, effective August 1, 2024, and continuing through June 2025. Dr. McCormick brings over four decades of experience in the higher-education sector, most recently serving as President Emeritus and Board of Governors Professor of History and Education at Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey.
The SUNY Board of Trustees said, "Congratulations to Dr. McCormick as he joins Stony Brook University and the SUNY community as interim president. The Board of Trustees is confident that his extensive experience in higher education will bring stability and continued success to the university during this pivotal time, ensuring a smooth and successful transition. We look forward to working with him during this academic year."
“Stony Brook University is a phenomenal institution that provides a world-class higher education and is well respected for its academic excellence, renowned research capabilities, and robust support and resources for our students’ success,” said SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. “Each step we take in this leadership transition is important, and we welcome Dr. McCormick. His vast higher education experience will continue to move this esteemed university forward as the campus conducts a national search for its new president.”
The national search for Stony Brook’s next leader will begin this summer, following former President Maurie McInnis’s departure last month to serve as president of Yale University. As an interim president, Dr. McCormick will not be a candidate to be Stony Brook’s next permanent president.
Stony Brook Council Chairman Kevin S. Law said, “Stony Brook University is a world-class institution, moving on an upward trajectory, educating the next generation of leaders and thinkers, and bettering our society through research and economic development. I am pleased to welcome Dr. McCormick, whose accomplishments and vision in higher-education leadership are nothing short of extraordinary, as our interim president, and to begin the search for our next permanent president.”
Dr. McCormick said, “Stony Brook University is a leader in innovation, the destination of choice for patient care, and proof that academic excellence can go hand in hand with opportunity and inclusion. It has achieved national stature yet remains fully engaged with its Long Island community, for which it is an economic engine. I look forward to working alongside Stony Brook's talented leadership team to continue the university's momentum and elevate Stony Brook to even greater heights. My thanks to the SUNY Board of Trustees, Chancellor King, and the Stony Brook Council for this opportunity.”
About Dr. Richard L. McCormick
Dr. Richard L. McCormick is President Emeritus, University Professor, and Board of Governors Professor of History and Education at Rutgers University. Dr. McCormick is an experienced higher education leader with presidential roles at both Rutgers University and the University of Washington. Prior to his presidencies, he served as Executive Vice Chancellor, Provost, and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
To complement his long and successful career as a higher education administrator and faculty member, Dr. McCormick has earned several awards and fellowships. These include an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Rutgers University, an Honorary Professorship at Shanghai University, and a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship.
Dr. McCormick has authored numerous books and articles in the field of American political history, beginning with his first book on New York State politics in the Progressive era. Currently Dr. McCormick is writing a book on the history of American political corruption from the 17th century to the present. He holds a Ph.D. in history from Yale University and a B.A. in American Studies from Amherst College.
Reverend Dr. M. William Howard Jr. (Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Governors at Rutgers University) said, “Dr. McCormick brings to Stony Brook a diverse set of experiences that will bode well for the university. At Rutgers, where I served on the Board of Governors, I witnessed firsthand his considerable strengths as an academic leader.”
New York University President Emeritus John Sexton said, “In Richard McCormick, Stony Brook University has found the ideal person to serve as its Interim President. An accomplished administrator with a record of success across the research university landscape, Dick appreciates the role and the challenges facing great places like Stony Brook. He will bring wisdom and creativity to this role.”
Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway said, “Richard McCormick will bring his deep experience as a leader in higher education to Stony Brook along with his impressive record for being unafraid to tackle difficult issues – key traits that are profoundly needed in this moment. Stony Brook is fortunate to have his stewardship in the pivotal year ahead."
Rutgers University Senior Policy Fellow, New Jersey State Policy Lab, and Co-director, Center for Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, Linda Stamato (Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Governors at Rutgers University), said, “Working with Dick McCormick during his consequential presidency at Rutgers allowed me to appreciate the significance of his accomplishments and the quality of his leadership. During his tenure Rutgers made enormous strides. Dick’s capacity to work with and to motivate people and to share accomplishments with them is a mark of his character and a cause of his success. He brings significant experience with him to Stony Brook and a great attitude, not to mention a profound regard for higher education.”
Rutgers University Distinguished Professor Philip Furmanski (former Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs at Rutgers) said, “Dick McCormick is one of the most experienced, capable, and dedicated leaders in American higher education. Even in an interim capacity, he will work tirelessly to advance the goals and ambitions of the Stony Brook University community.”
About The State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the country’s oldest school of maritime, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.4 million students amongst its entire portfolio of credit- and non-credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2023, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunities, visit www.suny.edu.
Veronica Chiesi Brown
Community Relations
07/17/2024