Chancellor’s Summer Research Excellence Fund Established Summer Opportunity for Academic Research (SUNY SOAR)
STONY BROOK, NY – August 17, 2023 –Stony Brook University President Maurie McInnis celebrated the successful conclusion of Stony Brook’s 2023 Chancellor’s Summer Research Excellence Fund internships which facilitated the university’s Summer Opportunity for Academic Research (SUNY SOAR). SUNY SOAR is a pilot program that provided $250,000 from SUNY to Stony Brook as well as to other SUNY institutions.
The Principal Investigator (PI) on this initiative was Karian Wright, Director of the Center for Inclusive Education (CIE) with co-PIs: Dr. Maria Nagan, Karen Kernan and Lisa Ospitale. SUNY SOAR expanded opportunities for undergraduates with financial need and/or first generation college students and offered its participants a stipend ($5,000), a meal plan ($800), plus full housing support ($4059/student), a significant factor in recruiting students with financial hardship. The inaugural group of 25 SUNY SOAR participants (Summer 2023) comprises 20 Stony Brook and 5 non-Stony Brook SUNY students.
Stony Brook was one of the initial participants of the Summer Research Excellence Fund, along with Binghamton University, University at Buffalo, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and SUNY Polytechnic Institute.
“Stony Brook University prides itself on delivering a world-class, affordable education to our diverse student population, many who are the first in their families to attend college,” said Stony Brook University President Maurie McInnis. “As a flagship public research institution, we recognize students have a critical role to play in solving society’s biggest challenges. Thanks to the Chancellor’s Summer Research Excellence Fund/SUNY SOAR, our students gained essential hands-on experience working closely with faculty researchers who are innovators and leaders in their fields.”
SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr. said, “Internships are essential to providing students with real-world, practical experience that will prepare them for their future careers. SUNY has set the goal that every student will be able to participate in an internship by the time they graduate. The Chancellor’s Summer Research Excellence Fund was the first step in making that goal a reality and investing in the upward mobility of SUNY students.”
Internships contribute to student success by presenting students with the skills and opportunities they need to succeed in their career through real-world experience and increase their marketability. Sixty percent of employers prefer to hire graduates and workers with internship experience, and a 2022 study found that for each additional high impact internship completed, students boosted their job or continuing education placement odds as well as their starting salary.
###
About Stony Brook UniversityStony Brook University — New York’s flagship university and No. 1 public university — is going far beyond the expectations of today’s public universities. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. With more than 24,000 students, more than 2,800 faculty members, more than 200,000 alumni, a premier academic healthcare system and 18 NCAA Division I athletic programs, Stony Brook is a research-intensive distinguished center of innovation dedicated to addressing the world’s biggest challenges. The university embraces its mission to provide comprehensive undergraduate, graduate and professional education of the highest quality, and is ranked among the top 35 public universities by Forbes and one of the top 80 universities in the nation by the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges listing. Fostering a commitment to academic research and intellectual endeavors, Stony Brook’s membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU) places it among the top 65 research institutions in North America. The university’s distinguished faculty have earned esteemed awards such as the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Indianapolis Prize for animal conservation, Abel Prize and the inaugural Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics. Stony Brook has the responsibility of co-managing Brookhaven National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy — one of only eight universities with a role in running a national laboratory. Providing economic growth for neighboring communities and the wider geographic region, the university totals an impressive $7.23 billion in increased economic output on Long Island. Follow us on Facebook (
https://www.facebook.com/stonybrooku/) and Twitter(@stonybrooku)
Source: Stony Brook University
Original content:
https://shorturl.at/mBJZ9
