The Perfect Match
The donors whose endowed gifts — tripled through New York state and Simons Foundation support — are powering the university’s rise
By Christine McGrath
Stony Brook University is on the cusp of an unprecedented leap forward.
Less than three years after the historic $500 million Simons Infinity Investment and the launch of New York state’s $500 million endowment match challenge, generous supporters have helped grow the university’s endowment from $392 million in 2023 to an approximate $825 million as of December 2025.
With continued fundraising efforts and positive financial market conditions, the endowment could potentially reach $1 billion by December 2026. Together, the state match and the Simons investment have tripled the impact of endowed gifts, accelerating SBU’s trajectory in ways few institutions experience.
“At its core, this moment is about expanding what Stony Brook can deliver — for our students, for our researchers and for the communities we serve,” said Stony Brook University President Andrea Goldsmith. “I’m grateful to Governor Hochul, the Simons Foundation and Jim and Marilyn Simons for their extraordinary leadership and belief in Stony Brook. And I’m equally grateful to the hundreds of donors who have stepped forward to amplify this momentum. Their generosity strengthens our mission across all dimensions of education, research, healthcare and service to our communities, our great state, the country and the world.”
With the power of the matches, supporters’ generosity is reshaping the university: from 187 new or expanded student scholarships; to 41 newly endowed faculty positions; to funding for arts, engineering, humanities, business, health sciences and athletics; to research that stretches from Stony Brook to the Turkana Basin Institute in Kenya. Here are just three of the dozens of stories of impact.
Getting to the Finish Line
As longtime supporters of Stony Brook and immigrants whose educational journeys were shaped by fellowship support, Ashvin Chhabra and Daniela Bonafede‑Chhabra have always been drawn to efforts that expand affordability and access. Chhabra, who worked closely for more than a decade with Jim Simons (1938-2024) and currently chairs the Stony Brook Foundation Investment Committee, said their philanthropy has been influenced by watching how SBU benefactors Jim and Marilyn Simons modeled thoughtful, targeted giving, maximizing impact.
“We’ve always believed in the power of education to create socioeconomic mobility, and Stony Brook stands out nationally as one of the best places to make that happen. Helping students reach graduation is what truly unlocks that opportunity,” Chhabra said.
In 2024, the Chhabras established the Ashvin B. Chhabra & Daniela Bonafede‑Chhabra Finish Line Endowed Scholarship to provide mini-grants that help students who face financial difficulty in meeting tuition and other payments to complete their degree requirements on time. The fund’s corpus has already supported 27 students. Inspired by the program’s early impact, they made an additional significant commitment in 2026 to expand its reach.
For the Chhabras, the Finish Line initiative represented exactly the kind of meaningful opportunity they were seeking. Bonafede-Chhabra noted how small the financial gap often is between a student graduating on time or falling behind and potentially never completing the degree. “The difference between success and failure can hinge on less than $5,000,” she said.
“Knowing this gift could help many students overcome removable barriers was really exciting.” Chhabra added, “Your dollar can have a tremendous impact if used at the right moment. These students are exceptional in every way, not just academically but also in their resilience in battling multiple challenges related to financial hardship. We wanted to be a catalyst that helps them move forward.”
Finish Line is a cornerstone of the Undergraduate Retention Initiatives and Success Engagement program. The initiative identifies students through referrals or direct outreach, monitors academic progress and intervenes when financial strain threatens their ability to stay enrolled. Whether resolving an account balance, covering an essential course or filling a gap in housing or cost‑of‑attendance funding, the scholarship provides targeted support that keeps students on track.
“Forty percent of our students are first‑generation and Pell‑eligible, which means many don’t have a safety net to fall back on,” said Rachelle Germana, senior associate provost for undergraduate education. “The Finish Line scholarship catches students at the exact moments when an unexpected expense could derail their progress. Support from donors like the Chhabras ensures we can step in quickly so students stay enrolled and keep moving toward their degree.”
For students like Alexander Spoon, the impact is immediate. Just one semester shy of earning his degree, Spoon thought he would have to pause his education due to financial constraints. After receiving a Finish Line scholarship, he was able to enroll in his Spring 2026 courses and remain on track to graduate this past May.
“This scholarship made an enormous difference for me,” said Spoon. “Financial pressures can be overwhelming, and I worried they might delay my degree. Being selected felt like a weight lifted. As a first‑generation student, this support has let me stay focused on completing my education.”
Elevating Pediatric Care
For more than three decades, the Knapp family and their three foundations have fueled progress across Stony Brook Medicine, strengthening children’s health, advancing research and expanding opportunities for future physicians and scientists. Their support helped build Suffolk County’s first and only children’s hospital while elevating pediatric specialty care, medical education and discovery across the institution.
“Stony Brook has been there for our family in ways that are impossible to measure,” said Bill Knapp ’78. “We give because we want every family in our community to have access to the same exceptional care.”
In 2023, inspired by match opportunities, the Knapp Swezey Foundation established several endowed positions and a research fund supporting the hospital system’s most vulnerable pediatric patients. These endowed roles strengthen clinical leadership and fuel research that drives better outcomes for children across the region.
“Every breakthrough in pediatric medicine starts with a question we refuse to stop asking,” said Sharon Nachman, MD, Knapp Endowed Chair in Pediatrics and SUNY Distinguished Professor. “Support for our work allows us to pursue the studies that lead to real answers — the kind that change the trajectory of children’s lives.”
The Knapp Swezey Foundation also established the Renaissance School of Medicine Endowed Scholarship Fund in 2024, which strengthens RSOM’s existing scholarship resources by expanding access to medical education for medical students. This scholarship, along with their broader philanthropic vision, set the stage for the family’s next major investment.
In 2025, inspired by the breadth and ambition of Stony Brook’s research enterprise, Priscilla Knapp Teich deepened the family’s impact by establishing the Stony Brook Medicine Endowed Research Fund to advance scientific discovery.
“Stony Brook has been part of my life for many years, and I’ve seen firsthand the dedication of its researchers,” said Knapp Teich. “My hope is that this fund accelerates discoveries that improve lives here on Long Island and beyond.”
The following year, the Knapp Swezey Foundation established an endowment for the physician‑in‑chief position at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital. The Knapp Endowed Physician‑in‑Chief supports clinical excellence, advances innovative treatments and strengthens interdisciplinary collaboration. Carolyn Milana, chair of the Department of Pediatrics and the current physician‑in‑chief, will serve as the inaugural holder of the endowed position, helping to drive the hospital’s strategic growth and academic mission.
“The Knapp family has an extraordinary ability to see where their support can make the greatest difference,” said Nachman. “Their partnership strengthens our programs today and helps us build the future of pediatric care.”
Furthering Excellence
When Guojuan (Amy) Liao, PhD ’93, made her first major gift to Stony Brook in 2023, she did so with a clear purpose: to honor SBU Professor Emeritus Sanford R. Simon, PhD, whose belief in giving students freedom in the lab shaped her scientific career, and to support the next generation of researchers. Her gift established the Dr. Sanford R. Simon Endowed Fellowship in Biochemistry, providing meaningful support for doctoral students in the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology.
For Melanie Cragan, a fifth‑year PhD student in the Molecular and Cellular Biology program, the fellowship arrived at a pivotal moment. In 2024, she presented her work at a bacteria and phages conference. “Receiving the Simon Fellowship gave me the confidence to step into the scientific community as a peer,” Cragan said. “Dr. Liao’s generosity inspires me to pay that support forward to future students.”
Liao’s own journey to Stony Brook began in 1989, when she arrived from China with a full scholarship and only a few hundred dollars. Drawn by the chance to study where Nobel Laureate C.N. Yang taught, she built the foundation for a career that would lead her to co‑found Couragene and GENEWIZ, later acquired by Azenta Life Sciences.
In 2025, inspired by match opportunities, Liao established the $1 million Yang Manzhen Endowed Fund for Excellence in Biochemistry and Cell Biology, named in honor of her grandmother. “Stony Brook shaped my intellectual and professional path,” said Liao. “My grandmother taught me that perseverance and joy can carry you far, and I hope this fund gives students and faculty the freedom to take risks and pursue bold, interdisciplinary ideas.”
The endowed fund supports programs, student activities and opportunities that cultivate excellence across the department, encouraging innovative, collaborative work.
“Amy’s generosity continues to strengthen the heart of our department,” said Wali Karzai, PhD, chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology. “Combined with the Dr. Sanford R. Simon Endowed Fellowship, her support helps us nurture outstanding young scientists and ensures that biochemistry and cell biology at Stony Brook remain a place where talent is cultivated and discovery thrives.”
“These endowment gifts and the matching dollars will benefit Stony Brook in innumerable ways in perpetuity. Beginning with the extraordinary $500 million gift from the Simons Foundation, and through the remarkable outpouring of support since then, our community stepped forward with deep generosity and inspired vision,” said Scott Barrett, who served as interim vice president for advancement until June 2026. “These partnerships and the support from our friends and alumni are the fuel that will enable us to reach our highest aspirations and a testament to what can be achieved when people believe deeply in this university and everything it can become.”
Learn more about our endowments by visiting stonybrook.edu/endowments.