A Celebration of Leadership: Investiture to Recognize 10 Endowed Faculty and the Philanthropy Behind Them

Ten distinguished faculty members will be formally invested into endowed positions at Stony Brook University on Monday, November 9, 2026, during a ceremony that will also honor the visionary donors who make them possible. The signature university annual event will take place at the Charles B. Wang Center Theater, beginning at 5:30 pm, with a reception to follow.

Endowed professorships and chairs are among the highest honors a university can bestow, recognizing exceptional academic leadership and visionary research achievements. These endowments are essential to Stony Brook’s mission, providing the resources needed to recruit, retain and support world‑class faculty across education, research, healthcare and service.

This year’s investiture will honor the following faculty members:

• Raymond C. Bergan, MD — Kavita and Lalit Bahl Endowed Cancer Center Director
• Melissa Finucane, PhD — Knapp Endowed Infinity Chair
• Bettina Fries, MD, FIDSA, FACP — Diana Briann Lawson Endowed Professor
• David S. Glass, PhD — Arthur P. Grollman Endowed Assistant Professor of Physical and Quantitative Biology
• Todd Griffin, MD, MBA — Sanguinity Foundation Endowed Chair in Women’s Health
• Fedor Iskhakov, PhD — Endowed Chair for the Center for Applied Economics and Public Policy
• Allison McLarty, MD, FACS — General Ting Feng Cheng Endowed Chair in Cardiothoracic Surgery
• Carolyn Milana, MD — Knapp Endowed Children’s Hospital Physician in Chief
• Syed Shah, MD — Distinguished Endowed Chair in Anesthesiology
• Shao-Jun Tang, PhD — SPARC Endowed Professor of Anesthesiology

The ceremony will feature an address by Andrea Goldsmith, PhD, president of Stony Brook University, and a keynote by Anissa Abi‑Dargham, MD, the Lourie Endowed Chair in Psychiatry. A nationally recognized leader in neuropsychiatry, Abi‑Dargham has advanced the use of multimodal imaging to better understand schizophrenia and addiction. She serves as chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, a SUNY Distinguished Professor and associate dean and associate vice president for clinical and translational science. Her endowed position supports her imaging research and mentorship of emerging scientists.

Abi-Dargham’s work reflects the impact that endowed faculty positions can have on advancing discovery, supporting mentorship and strengthening Stony Brook’s mission. The Investiture’s annual tradition honors both the academic excellence of Stony Brook’s faculty and the philanthropy that helps make their work possible. It is an opportunity for our community to come together to recognize shared progress and possibility. All members of the campus community and the public are invited. 

Register here.

Watch a video from the 2025 Investiture Ceremony:

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

Questions? Contact advancementevents@stonybrook.edu or call (631) 632-4466.

See photos from the 2025 Investiture Ceremony and Reception:

-Christine McGrath