Erwin And Cary Staller Honored At Stars Of Stony Brook Gala In NYC

STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Stony Brook University prepares to mark its 50th Anniversary during the 2006-07 academic year and commemorated it by honoring longtime benefactors Erwin and Cary Staller at the Stars of Stony Brook Gala on Wednesday, May 3 at Pier Sixty, Chelsea Piers in Manhattan . The event culminated a year of dramatic growth, spectacular innovation, and international praise for the University, now one of the leading research institutions in the world.

“This is a time to look back and express gratitude for the extraordinary generosity of the Staller family,” said Stony Brook President Shirley Strum Kenny.“ And it also is a time to look to the future, as we begin our next 50 years, and the role Stony Brook will play in the region, the state, and the nation. It is our time.”

Stony Brook and the Staller family have a long history together. Thanks to the generosity of the Stallers, the University's fine arts center was named in honor of Max and Mary Staller in 1988. Since then Cary Staller has led the Board of Directors of the Staller Center for the Arts, and in 1998 he was elected to the Stony Brook Foundation Board of Trustees. Erwin Staller has been a member of the Stony Brook Foundation Board of Trustees since 1983, and in 2001 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Stony Brook in honor of his munificence and service to the University and the Long Island community.

Stony Brook will begin the formal celebration of its 50th Anniversary in the Fall. The University was established in 1957 as a college for teachers of mathematics and science. In the nearly fifty years since its founding, the University has grown tremendously, and is now recognized as one of the nation's important centers of learning and scholarship. It is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and has also been listed as one of the “100 Best Values in Higher Education” among public universities, according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine.

Stony Brook's growth will continue as it establishes a curriculum focused on the environment and its sustainability at the former Southampton College campus—to be known as Stony Brook Southampton—an expansion that will create what President Kenny calls “a footprint from Manhattan to the East End.” The University already has a site in New York City with classroom space, administrative space, and conference facilities known as Stony Brook Manhattan.

The Stars of Stony Brook Gala is an invitation-only event and was created in 2000 to increase scholarship funding. This annual event has enabled the Stony Brook Foundation to increase its funding of scholarships, fellowships, and other awards for students from $1.4 million in 2000 to more than $4.2 million in 2005.