Maurie McInnis Named Sixth President of Stony Brook University

Maurie McInnis, PhD, currently executive vice president and provost at the University of Texas at Austin and a renowned cultural historian, will become the sixth president of Stony Brook University, SUNY Board of Trustees Chairman Merryl H. Tisch and SUNY Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson have announced.

Dr. McInnis’s appointment, effective July 1, was announced following a vote by the State University of New York Board of Trustees.
“This is an exciting moment for Stony Brook, and I’m confident Dr. Maurie McInnis will take the university to even greater heights in its unique role in fostering innovation, creativity and research that impacts the state, country and the world,” said SUNY Chancellor Johnson.
“Dr. McInnis’s scholarship that advances cross-disciplinary research, her extraordinary advocacy on the part of faculty excellence and her demonstrated excellence in fostering greater opportunities for students through higher education aligns perfectly with the mission of Stony Brook University.”
“It is now as important as ever to support all our campuses with strong and proven leaders who can quickly navigate challenges, such as the impact of the coronavirus, and keep our students on a path to the world class higher education they expect,” said SUNY Chairman Tisch. “Dr. Maurie McInnis has demonstrated experience and the characteristics of such a leader, and we are entrusting her to lead and inspire the students and faculty of Stony Brook University for years to come.”
As chief executive for Stony Brook, Dr. McInnis will also oversee Stony Brook Medicine, Long Island’s premier academic medical center, encompassing five health sciences schools, three hospitals, and 120 community-based healthcare settings, and will play a key role in economic development on Long Island and in Stony Brook’s role as a co-manager of Brookhaven National Laboratory.
“Dr. Maurie McInnis is going to be an outstanding president of SBU and her 25 years of experience in public research institutions will be of tremendous value to our University,” said Kevin S. Law, President and Chief Executive Officer, Long Island Association, Inc. and Chair of the Stony Brook Council, who led the search committee. “I look forward to helping Maurie get acclimated on campus, on Long Island and in our state.”
Chancellor Johnson thanked Interim President Dr. Michael Alan Bernstein for his leadership since August 2019 after Dr. Samuel L. Stanley stepped down and the expansive search for the next president began, saying, “Interim President Michael Bernstein continues to lead the Stony Brook campus in extraordinarily uncertain times as the coronavirus evolves further. I am grateful to him for his thoughtful leadership.”

Dr. McInnis said she was honored by the opportunity to lead an institution that is “both at the forefront of groundbreaking research and committed to advancing the American dream.”
“The critical issues we face today have made it even more clear the important role higher education plays in educating tomorrow’s leaders and tackling today’s challenges by fostering cross-disciplinary research,” she said. “At higher education institutions, our responsibility is not just to admit students but to give them the tools to succeed throughout their collegiate careers and after graduation.”
As the chief academic officer for the University of Texas at Austin, Dr. McInnis leads strategic planning for the university’s academic mission, which includes academic programs and initiatives across 18 colleges and schools, serving and supporting more than 51,000 students and 3,000 teaching and research faculty. She is responsible for the budget for the university’s academic division, managing 1.8 billion of the institution’s 3.1 billion-dollar budget. She is also deeply involved in the university’s fundraising efforts, leading a team of development officers.

Additionally, Dr. McInnis oversees the university’s libraries and museums, archival collections, research centers and academic support units. During her tenure at UT Austin, Dr. McInnis has invested in numerous student and faculty support programs, including the Texas Advance Commitment to expand access to higher education for Texas families, and the Executive Management Leadership Program to provide faculty and administrators the opportunity to develop leadership skills helpful in academic leadership positions. Through strategic budgeting and strategic initiatives, she has focused efforts on recruiting and retaining exceptional faculty.
While at UT Austin, Dr. McInnis has made significant advancements and investments in equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives. She created the new position of Vice Provost for Diversity and spearheaded efforts to create school- and college-based diversity and inclusion committees and chief diversity officers.
Dr. McInnis has served as the executive vice president and provost of UT Austin since 2016. Previously, she spent nearly 20 years at the University of Virginia, ultimately as the vice provost for academic affairs. Her academic scholarship has focused on the cultural history of the American south. She has published extensively on American art history, including five books on the subject. Her most recent book, Slaves Waiting for Sale: Abolitionist Art and the American Slave Trade (University of Chicago, 2011) was awarded the Charles C. Eldredge Book Prize from the Smithsonian American Art Museum for outstanding scholarship in American Art.
She earned her bachelor’s degree with highest distinction in art history from University of Virginia, and received her master’s degree and PhD in art history from Yale University. Dr. McInnis is married with two children.
“After an exhaustive search conducted by a great team of individuals all invested in Stony Brook University’s future, we are pleased to announce Dr. Maurie McInnis as our next president,” said James H. Simons, search committee member and founder of Renaissance Technologies.
“Stony Brook and its values have held a special place in my heart, and I have every confidence that Maurie will uphold the University’s mission and lead the campus forward, strengthening its reputation as a world-class public university and research institution,” Simons said.