On May 15, Stony Brook University was recognized by The Andrew Goodman Foundation (AGF) as one of just five Leader Campuses within its national, nonpartisan Andrew Goodman Vote Everywhere Network that includes more than 70 college campuses across the United States.

The AGF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to increase student voter participation on college and university campuses across the nation. The organization is named after Andrew Goodman, a 20-year old Freedom Summer volunteer and champion of equality and voting rights who was murdered by the KKK in 1964 while registering African Americans to vote in Mississippi. 

Last year, Stony Brook was one of 123 institutions to receive the Voter Friendly Campus award by NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education) and the Fair Election Center’s Campus Vote Project for its continued commitment to increasing the student voting rate on campus. According to Tufts University’s National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement, between 2012 and 2016, SBU increased its eligible student voting rate from 43.2 percent to 53.2 percent in presidential elections, with much higher goals for student voting in 2020. These impressive results are due to the sophisticated voter registration, education, and mobilization efforts led by the University’s Center for Civic Justice.

Impacting Change in the Community
Not only has SBU’s program been recognized by NASPA with the Excellence Award for Civic Learning, Democratic Engagement, Service-Learning, and Community Service, but the Center for Civic Justice also developed a nationally renowned student orientation voter registration model and has registered more than 25,000 students to vote, establishing itself as one of the highest achieving programs in the Andrew Goodman Vote Everywhere Network.

Read the full story: SBU Designated an Elite Leader Campus by The Andrew Goodman Foundation | | SBU