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President McCormick with the 11 professors honored at the Investiture ceremony.
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Investiture ceremony honors 11 endowed faculty members and their donors

By Christine McGrath

Marsha and Henry Laufer faculty

Marsha and Henry Laufer (center) with newly installed faculty members who hold endowed chairs they established.

To attract the best and brightest students, provide exceptional healthcare and make new discoveries through innovative research at Stony Brook University, it’s important to have the best faculty. Among the most critical tools for recruiting and retaining top talent are endowed professorships or chairs. Endowed positions are among the highest career distinctions bestowed upon university faculty, and they serve as a lasting tribute to the generous philanthropists who establish them.

Eleven endowed faculty members were formally installed on October 25. The ceremony, held at the Charles B. Wang Center Theater, included addresses from interim Stony Brook University President Richard L. McCormick, Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Staff Development Mónica Bugallo and keynote speaker Esther S. Takeuchi, PhD, the William and Jane Knapp Endowed Chair in Energy and the Environment and a SUNY Distinguished Professor. 

“Thanks to our generous friends who have placed their trust in Stony Brook, we are able to recruit and retain the absolute best scholars,” said McCormick. “The faculty we are honoring conduct research to address the world’s most pressing challenges, attract the strongest students and fuel our unstoppable momentum.”

All of the endowed faculty members — and their philanthropists — are equally passionate about their work, which ranges from physical and quantitative biology and the intersection of art and artificial intelligence to work in social justice and climate change research, as highlighted throughout the ceremony.

“The faculty members recognized today represent Stony Brook University at its best,” said Bugallo. “The breakthroughs made possible by our faculty research and endeavors are helping to solve some of the greatest and often complex challenges of our day.”

Group photo: William Knapp, Danielle Knapp-SanGiovanni, Allison Knapp, Michele and Dave Knapp

William Knapp, Danielle Knapp-SanGiovanni, Allison Knapp, Michele and Dave Knapp

During the ceremony, each faculty member was awarded a medallion by the dean of their respective school. Philanthropists in attendance were also presented with a medal for their dedication and continued support of the university. The 11 endowed faculty come from across the university, including the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the Renaissance School of Medicine and the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences.

Henry and Marsha Laufer have established five endowed positions within the Louis and Beatrice Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology. Four of those endowed faculty members were included in the induction ceremony. “By joining the Laufer Center, I have been able to further accelerate and expand the scope of my research,” said Ivet Bahar, PhD, the Louis and Beatrice Laufer Endowed Director and Chair in Physical and Quantitative Biology. “Thanks to the Laufers’ generous support, we are generating new knowledge at the interface of biological and physical sciences; developing new computations tools that help elucidate the molecular bases of complex diseases, from cancer to infectious diseases to neurological disorders; and designing new modulators of function that will ultimately lead to better therapeutic strategies.”

“Marsha and I are very proud of the work being done at the Laufer Center,” said Henry Laufer. “In addition to the new knowledge being created, the faculty are helping to train the next generation of scientists that will lead future discoveries in academia and industry.”

Among the philanthropists in attendance were Henry and Marsha Laufer, Nirmal and Augustina Mattoo and Jane Ross as well as members of the Knapp Swezey Foundation, including William Knapp ’78, Michele and Dave Knapp, Danielle Knapp-SanGiovanni ’20 and Allison Knapp, and an anonymous alumnus who established the Savitri Devi Bangaru Term Professor in Artificial Intelligence position.

Nimal and Augustina Mattoo celebrating the investiture of Sthaneshwar Timalsina with friends.

Nimal and Augustina Mattoo (front row, center right) celebrating the investiture of Sthaneshwar Timalsina with friends.

Nirmal and Augustina Mattoo established the Nirmal K. and Augustina Mattoo Endowed Chair in Classical Indic Humanities in 2017. Their generosity has also allowed the Bishembarnath and Sheela Mattoo Center for India Studies to flourish and become nationally and internationally recognized as an academic and cultural center of excellence in India studies. “The study of India is a wonderful complement to one’s education and strengthens cross-cultural understanding as the global economy and community continues to become ever more interdependent,” said Nirmal Mattoo, MD.

Over 30 years, the Knapp family has established several endowed positions, including the Knapp Swezey endowed chair in pediatric surgery. They have also supported programs with the Renaissance School of Medicine, Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, including support for the pediatric emergency department expansion, and the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Knapp family members also contribute their time to Stony Brook by participating on the Stony Brook Foundation Board, the Stony Brook Medicine Advisory Board, the Stony Brook Children’s Hospital Advancement Council, the Women’s Leadership Council and the Alumni Association.

The faculty members who were invested include:

See more about the newly invested faculty and their pursuit of innovative ideas.

For more information on the endowed faculty members, visit https://www.stonybrook.edu/endowedfaculty 

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