Largest Donation in SUNY History; Gift from Simons Foundation will Fund Construction of Simons Center for Geometry and Physics

Governor Eliot Spitzer today announced a $60 million donation to SUNY Stony Brook from financier and former SUNY Stony Brook Mathematics Department Chairman Jim Simons and his wife Marilyn Simons. The donation, the largest to any New York State public university, will fund the construction of the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics at Stony Brook’s Long Island campus. It will also support the recruitment of top faculty and students to the center.

The gift represents a defining moment for Stony Brook, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. It also demonstrates how collaboration between the public and private sectors can help make the state’s public colleges and universities magnets for research, which will both enhance the state’s public higher education system and spur economic growth in our communities.

To further help the SUNY system attract the brightest students, hire the most renowned faculty and produce cutting-edge research, Governor Spitzer earlier this year announced a $4 billion public higher education endowment. The new funding stream for New York’s public colleges and universities is expected to grow to $6.3 billion and generate over $330 million per year within 10 years.

“This donation will bolster New York’s efforts to become a leader in innovation and excellence in higher education,� said Governor Spitzer. “Jim Simons is a man who knows a good investment when he sees one, and the generosity of Jim and Marilyn acknowledges the great potential of SUNY Stony Brook. As a state, we must follow the Simons’ lead and do our part by investing in SUNY and CUNY, because investments in higher education are investments in New York’s future.�

Today’s donation brings the total donated to Stony Brook by Jim and Marilyn Simons to nearly $85 million. In addition to Jim’s tenure as Chairman of the Mathematics Department from 1968 to 1976, Marilyn Simons received her Ph.D. in economics from the University and is President of the Simons Foundation. After leaving Stony Brook, Mr. Simons became a leader in finance. He is President of Renaissance Technologies LLC, one of the most successful hedge funds in the world. The fund relies almost exclusively on mathematical modeling to drive recommendations.

Jim Simons said: “Marilyn and I are delighted to make this gift to the University. From Archimedes to Newton to Einstein, much of the most profound work in physics has been deeply intertwined with the geometric side of mathematics. Since then, in particular with the advent of such areas as quantum field theory and string theory, developments in geometry and physics have become if anything more interrelated. The new Center will give many of the world’s best mathematicians and physicists the opportunity to work and interact in an environment and an architecture carefully designed to enhance progress. We believe there is a chance that work accomplished at the Center will significantly change and deepen our understanding of the physical universe and of its basic mathematical structure.â€?

Stony Brook President Shirley Strum Kenny said: “I can’t imagine a more extraordinary 50th anniversary gift. Jim and Marilyn Simons are people of remarkable vision. They truly understand the critical need for support of education, particularly in science and mathematics, in America. Their generosity paves the way for Stony Brook to explore new frontiers in education and research, now and in the future. The Simons Center will further our tradition of excellence, and ensure that Stony Brook stands as a world center for research in math and physics.�

Chair of the Stony Brook Foundation Board Richard L. Gelfond, said: “Jim and Marilyn Simons have been a driving force in Stony Brook’s success for many decades. Their passion and commitment are infectious.  Their extraordinarily generous gift will help continue the climb of Stony Brook in the ranks of the elite institutions of the world.â€?

SUNY Board of Trustees Chairman Carl Hayden said: “With this generous gift, Jim Simons has invested in SUNY and in New York State. The creation of a new Center for Geometry and Physics at Stony Brook will complement and enhance existing research efforts going on throughout SUNY and help establish New York as a leader in the global innovation economy.�

Assemblymember Steve Englebright said: “SUNY Stony Brook has been a vital part of our community for 50 years. Private support for state schools will play an increasingly important part in keeping our universities growing and up to date. This donation by Jim and Marilyn Simons will keep SUNY Stony Brook at the forefront of research institutions.�

Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick, Chair of the Assembly Higher Education Committee, said: “This generous gift compliments the Assembly Majority’s efforts to ensure our SUNY and CUNY schools are a central part of economic development efforts throughout the state. Private gifts will be essential to rebuilding our great public university systems and we are greatly indebted to John and Marilyn Simon for their generosity.�

Brookhaven Town Supervisor Brian Foley said: “This is great news for Stony Brook and the 480,000 residents of Brookhaven Town, and another example of the type of extraordinary public/private partnership the University has forged with the community. Citizens who step up are to be commended. We send our sincerest thanks to Jim and Marilyn Simons for their generous donation. The University’s many roles in Town life — its vibrant student community, how it boosts the Town’s economic development efforts, as an employer, its delivery of world-class healthcare from the Medical Center, and of course as an academic institution without peer — add a richness and vibrancy that cannot be measured in dollars alone.  Brookhaven is fortunate indeed to count Stony Brook a part of our town.â€?

Part of the SUNY system, Stony Brook now encompasses 123 buildings on 1,100 acres, and serves more than 22,000 students with 1,900 faculty. Recognized as one of the nation’s important centers of learning and scholarship, the university is a member of the prestigious Association of American Universities – the invitation-only organization of the best research universities in the country – and has been listed as one of the best universities in the world by the London Times.

(Press release courtesy of Gov. Spitzer’s office.)