Stony Brook Southampton’s annual Lighting of the Windmill took place Friday, December 3 to celebrate the holiday season as well as the news that the iconic landmark will soon be restored to its original glory.

Official lighting of the windmill. 

This year’s event will honor Assemblyman Fred Thiele for securing a $500,000 capital grant that was used for the restoration and rehabilitation of the windmill, including new vanes. The structure has been standing at its Shinnecock Hills site since 1888.

“The Stony Brook University campus community is proud to be the caretaker of the windmill, a cherished historical icon that has existed in its current location for over a century,” Stony Brook University President Maurie McInnis said.

The event included refreshments, music, an alumni-sponsored photo booth, guided windmill tours and crafts for children in the Student Center Cafeteria.

It also included a 7:30 pm lecture in Duke Lecture Hall by Joe Warren, associate professor at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, titled, “Whale Watching From the Beach: How are New York Whales Reacting to a Changing Environment?”

Read the full story: https://news.stonybrook.edu/university/annual-southampton-windmill-lighting-returns-dec-3/?spotlight=5

The prestigious Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at Stony Brook University’s Renaissance School of Medicine trains the next generation of physician scientists, and this past year received its largest-ever award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), at $3.7 million for five years.

Students of the Medical Scientist Training Program. 

The program has received funding from the NIH every year since 1992. The funding will allow the program to continue in its mission and expand in ways that will help evolve with the changing times.

Founded 40 years ago by Arnie Levine and Paul Fisher, the eight-year MD/PhD program selects just eight students every year out of an average applicant pool of around 300, with the steady-state size of the program at around 64 students. The program strives to have its student body represent the ethnic, racial, and gender diversity of the nation, with students coming from across the country, from colleges and universities large and small. The overarching commonalities of its matriculants are a demonstrated love of science, commitment to translational research as a career path, and an awareness of what being a health care professional entails.

Once the program is completed, graduates go on to tackle some of the most pressing medical issues of the day, with the majority of them going on to careers in top academic medical departments, the NIH, and, more recently, biotechnology companies.

Funding for the program supports trainee stipends, tuition, health insurance, and fees, and provides additional resources to enhance the training environment. The program is additionally supported in roughly equal amounts by the Renaissance School of Medicine, faculty mentors, and the students themselves, who have a fantastic success rate of almost 2/3’s in obtaining personal NIH fellowships to support their training on top of the parent grant.

Read the full story: https://news.stonybrook.edu/university/medical-scientist-training-program-mstp-trains-the-next-generation-of-physician-scientists/

Despite a blistering heatwave, more than 300 Stony Brook students gathered together on Saturday, August 21, 2021, to volunteer their time at the University’s first Community Service Day. The program was designed to offer meaningful and impactful service opportunities as a way of introducing the freshmen to their campus and community while making new friends and connections.

Students plant new greenery near the 9/11 Memorial Arch.

The first project was a two-mile clean-up of Route 25A. A large group of 75 students was divided into two teams. Team Leader Jeff Barnett, Office of Student Life, guided dozens of students down the east end of Route 25A, while Michael Arens, Government and Community Relations Office, kept the team at the west moving. Armed with gloves, bags and pickers, the groups removed trash along the sidewalk.  The groups were joined by Suffolk County Legislator Kara Hahn, who has been organizing and participating in area clean-ups with the university and other groups for many years.

At Patriot’s Rock, a nearby historic community treasure, a group of students led by Nicole Chiuchiolo, Commuter Student Services, removed brush, invasive species and debris from the site.

The team that traveled the farthest from campus belonged to Dean of Students Ric McClendon. He and his team rode the bus down to Patchogue to manage a field day for children with Down Syndrome at Gigi’s Playhouse. The event ended with a water balloon fight, pizza, ice cream, and knowledge that these volunteers gave many families an afternoon of fun and caring as evidenced on the continuous smiles.

Back on campus, hundreds of students were also moving into their assignments. A team lead by Urszula Zalewski, Career Center, was brought to the Student Union, where they completed the assembly of 1,300 school backpacks with school supplies. The backpacks will be distributed Island-wide for K-12 children in need.

A team led by Pam Pfeil, Veterans Affairs Office, headed to the Student Activities Center to write notes of hope. Each student was given five cards to write inspirational or seasonal messages for their designated audience of local Suffolk residents receiving Meals on Wheels delivery.

Read the full story: https://news.stonybrook.edu/university/sbu-launches-freshmen-community-service-day/