Stewards of Southampton

Interview by Shelley Catalano
Photography by John Griffin

Wendy Pearson, in the art gallery in the Fine Arts Building, is looking forward to welcoming the community to more campus events.

As Stony Brook Southampton continues its transformative renewal, Wendy Pearson, vice president for strategic initiatives and executive director of Stony Brook Southampton, leads the charge in strengthening community ties and positioning it as a hub for education, workforce housing and climate research. With a commitment to honoring the past while building for the future, Pearson is working hand in hand with the local community to secure Southampton’s role as a cornerstone of Long Island’s academic, healthcare and economic landscape.

Pearson joined Stony Brook in November 2023 after more than 25 years in higher education, serving in different roles at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa. We recently met with her in the Avram Theater at Southampton to discuss her role, the importance of “kuleana” and other new initiatives on the horizon.

Tell us about your role.

I’m helping with strategic plan implementation and oversight over Stony Brook Southampton as we navigate toward a comprehensive plan to revitalize the campus, as well as other initiatives that align with our role as New York’s flagship institution.

In Southampton, I’m working closely with an advisory committee and the campus community to really think about what the future of this campus will look like. In light of our ambitious plans for moving Southampton Hospital to campus and adding workforce housing, what is our role in the East End community, especially in supporting the needs of the industries and the people who live here? We’ve engaged in (so far) a yearlong, strategic planning process around those core elements, and that takes up a good 70 to 80 percent of my time.

You’ve spent much of your career in Hawaii — what inspired this 5,000-mile move?     

As much as I love the University of Hawaii and the impact that it’s had on my life and my outlook on everything that I do, I knew it was time for me to have a different experience. I also wanted to navigate a little bit away from the core focus on academic affairs and do something more strategic and more outward facing. So, when this position was publicized, I thought, this sounds really interesting.  

Stony Brook, at the time, was on this incredible journey. I’m still amazed at how well Stony Brook navigated out of the COVID-19 shutdown at a time when most institutions were really circling the wagons and just trying to make sure that life and core functions were able to move forward. Stony Brook came out of this pandemic with all this momentum behind them with The New York Climate Exchange and being named New York’s flagship institution. Even now, the ambition that each of the cabinet level units has for this institution is really inspiring. Every time we meet, someone’s talking about really pushing the envelope, so it energizes you to do the same. Even in the short time I’ve been here, I see there’s so much more we can do. I’m excited about the future and the work that I have ahead of me.

Pearson and the cast interacted with students after the performance.

What were your first impressions of Southampton when you visited?

When you arrive, you feel something different. I don’t know if it’s the proximity to the water, the windmill or just the lovely green areas that you can stroll around, but there is something special about this place. And if you talk to the faculty and staff who are here, many of whom were here when it was under Long Island University, they’re here because they want to be here. They’re dedicated to this campus; this is the place that they want to be. 

Initially, I think I came with a different picture of what our job is here at Southampton. I’ve stopped saying Stony Brook owns the campus. We’re the stewards of this place. It was here before us and the community still thinks about it as Southampton College. We have a unique opportunity to build on those legacies while also leaning into our strengths. This campus is gorgeous and has huge potential, a diamond in the rough. At the same time, I’m aware others have tried to steer it and failed, so I know that we need to learn from those mistakes and to do something different to secure the future of this campus story. 

There’s a word in Hawaiian. It’s called kuleana, and people often translate that as responsibility, but if you look at the Hawaiian word and break it down, it’s actually a right and a privilege. For example, you think you have a responsibility to take care of your parents. Actually, it’s a privilege to be able to take care of your parents, because, you know, I’d give anything to have my parents in my life today. When you think that we are the only university with a four-year campus on the East End that supports the North and the South Forks, it’s our kuleana to do that. And so, the weight of that is something that I feel very strongly.

On February 3, the Southampton campus hosted the grand opening of its new Sensory Room. It has a variety of fidget toys, sensory seating and lighting options so students can relax and unwind.

What are the biggest challenges to revitalizing the campus?
I think one of the biggest challenges we face out here is our facilities. When we became stewards of the campus in 2006, Long Island University — the previous owners — had already been facing financial difficulties, so many of the facilities were already in disrepair. Then under previous Stony Brook leadership, there was an effort to revitalize these buildings. But then the 2008 recession hit, and at some point, you end up at where buildings are no longer really viable. The cost of addressing deferred repair and maintenance is expensive. The cost to even demolish a building is expensive, and we have 19 that are slated to be removed to make way for the new workforce housing that will be built. I’ve been working closely with Bill Herrmann, vice president for facilities and services, and we are on a really great trajectory right now to address those issues, thanks to recent investments, which will allow us to take down those buildings beginning later this year. 

The other huge challenge is rebuilding our relationship with the community. Prior to my being hired, there hadn’t been anyone in this role since before the pandemic after the previous administrator left. We need to regain the community’s trust that we’re serious about making changes; serious about moving Southampton Hospital; and serious about bringing students and programs back here that also support the business communities in the offseason. 

To facilitate rebuilding that trust, I established a Southampton Campus Advisory Committee that includes State Senator Anthony Palumbo; Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni; former Assemblyman Fred Thiele, a graduate of Southampton; as well as representatives from the industries and constituencies in the East End. Because whatever we build, it has to meet the needs of people in the North and the South Forks. The members are super engaged in what we’re doing and have been incredibly supportive and fantastic advocates.

The community and alumni especially love the windmill. Can you give us an update on its status?

I’m very excited about the work we’re doing with the community to make sure the windmill is preserved and that it remains here. Right now, we’re ironing out the details of ground lease legislation that would essentially turn the windmill over to Southampton town, and then they would be able to access their conservation fund to restore it. The town would be able to use the structure and host events there, too.

Southampton Campus Student Life hosted a Welcome Back Lunch for students, faculty and staff in the Health Professions programs.

The mansion is another important building to alumni and the community. The challenge really is the cost of renovating a historic structure like that. But that space  — with the view of the ocean and the interior beauty of that structure— is something that you want to find a way to preserve. There have been some discussions about what that should be, everything from an art center to a hotel or to a really robust conference center, which I think could be a great opportunity for us. I don’t think there’s a single conference center in the area, and that could be another way Stony Brook could provide a service that is sorely needed. 

Can you speak to the growth of the programs in the School of Health Professions?

That’s a huge success story for Stony Brook Southampton. Stacy Gropack, dean of health professions, was very entrepreneurial in thinking through the programs that are here: speech language pathology, physician assistant, physical therapy and occupational therapy. These cohorts are huge in terms of the size of this campus, and they are all high-in-demand careers. These are degrees that lead to well-paying careers and are areas that we have a need for, particularly in the East End. And when you start thinking about rural communities, these are the areas for which you want to be providing talent. That is something that we should be really leaning into. Right now, those programs are at capacity, so it’s up to us to find ways to increase that.  

And more investments are being made in our marine science research capabilities?

Thanks in part to the facilities in our Marine Science Center located across the street from the main Southampton campus, we are at the forefront of marine research on Long Island. To bolster that success, we are investing $25 million to renovate Professor Christopher Gobler’s lab in the Natural Sciences Building. This will help him and his students pursue research in critical areas such as water quality and marine conservation. That work is already underway.

Another recent success was the first performance held at the Avram Theater in 17 years.

The Avram Theater is such an incredible space. Every seat is a good seat, and it provides a really powerful, immersive experience because the actors are so close to the audience. I see Avram as being the front door for the campus. We may not have athletics, but we do have the arts, with Avram, the Lichtenstein Center, the Writers Conference and our partnership with the Pollock-Krasner House in our art gallery.

The performers of the “Underground” brought emotion back to Avram Theater for the first time in 17 years.

We thought about what we could do in Avram that would be special and different, finding high-quality works that you couldn’t see anywhere else. So we started thinking about possibilities and Akil DuPont, the writer and producer of “Underground: Hear the Sound of Freedom,” came to mind. After seeing the theater and knowing his cast and crew could stay on campus and rehearse in the space for a week, he was happy to bring his production to Avram in February. People came from all over the Island, from Nassau County and the North Fork, to see the production, and we grossed over $33,000 in ticket sales. It was a tremendous success.

After the very first performance, with students from Southampton and Hampton Bays high schools, we had a talk afterwards with DuPont and the cast. A student came forward, and she just kind of had her hands to her chest, and said, ‘I’ve never seen anything like this before. This is the first play I’ve ever been to.’ She’s in high school and she was overwhelmed with emotion. And that moment reaffirmed that we have a role to play here. We have a kuleana to play here. We have a right, a privilege, a responsibility here, and this theater can be key to that, through the arts, through lectures. Partnerships with the schools are so important. To think that there would be someone in high school who hasn’t had that opportunity to fall in love with theater, that was everything for me. I’ve got a mission here for this space, and that is what it’s going to be. So, it was reaffirming, but also just the possibilities are endless, and I’m super excited about what’s next for Avram.       

We are already working to add more theater and art events to the campus schedule. We recently started a series of themed concerts with The Jazz Loft on topics such as “the juke joints of Long Island” and the “soul of Latin jazz,” which will continue throughout the summer. We have plans to bring “Selected Shorts” here in June. It’s a stage version of a very popular podcast. We’re again bringing back the Hamptons Wine and Food Classic in collaboration with Taste of Long Island events, and then we’re getting into fall where I would love to have another musical like Underground on the schedule.  And the Southampton Writers Conference is celebrating its 50th anniversary this July.

Are there plans to add more summer programs, given the long-standing success of the Writers Conference?

Yes, we are bringing back this idea of summer camps. Health Professions already has one planned through their speech language pathology program. It’s called Camp Dream. Speak. Live. It’s a camp for kids from ages 7 to 17 that addresses stuttering through confidence building and other activities. And the Future Scholars Program that Interim President Richard McCormick launched will have their first camp experience this summer as well, and that’s for rising eighth graders to start them thinking about college possibilities.  

Where do you want to see Southampton in five years?  

I want us to be addressing parking issues, because there will be so many people wanting to come here that they will be unable to find a spot. I see that as a sign of incredible growth. I want us to have three to four undergraduate programs that lead to living-wage-and-beyond careers for students in the East End. I really want to lean into the work that Dean Gropack has already built by bringing more programs that provide talent who remain here in the East End. And I want to keep offering the cultural enrichment that even in the offseason, people are drawn to this place in a way that also supports the businesses around us.  

What are some other initiatives you are working on outside of Southampton?

We are working on a partnership with New York Law School to establish a presence in Tribeca, at 185 West Broadway, right smack in the financial legal district. The demographics of their students are actually very similar to our demographics and their mission is very much aligned with ours in terms of social mobility. So, there are a lot of opportunities for us to connect in terms of our missions.

A view of Southampton Campus from Route 27 looking toward the Shinnecock Bay.

While we already have programs in the city — with the School of Social Welfare holding classes at SUNY Optometry and the Lichtenstein Center’s Manhattan program on Eighth Avenue — this location will give us opportunities to expand our pre-law advising, joint programs and experiential learning. 

New York Law School also has a summer pipeline program for undergraduate students interested in law, and our students participated in that program for the first time last summer and will do so again this summer. We certainly want to leverage that and maybe even provide some bookended courses on either side of the summer, so students could have a more robust experience, maybe integrating some of the faculty from the law school.

Additionally, we are exploring collaborations between social work and law, recognizing the valuable intersection between these fields in clinical settings and practicum training. It also aligns well with our shared mission of social mobility and will allow us to establish a more visible and lasting presence in Manhattan. We should have more news to share on finalizing that partnership later this year.