UNITED STATES NEWS

Stony Brook University gets $500 million from hedge fund founder who taught math there

Jun 1, 2023, 12:56 PM

NEW YORK (AP) — Stony Brook University, a part of the public State University of New York system, will receive $500 million from a philanthropic foundation started by a hedge fund billionaire who once taught math there, the foundation announced Thursday.

The gift from the Simons Foundation will be delivered to Stony Brook over seven years and will go directly to the university’s endowment rather than being earmarked for a specific project, foundation officials said.

“I just love Stony Brook. It’s just a wonderful institution in every respect,” foundation co-founder Jim Simons said in announcing the gift at the Simons Foundation’s headquarters in Manhattan.

Simons, who joined Stony Brook as chair of the math department in 1968, said the Long Island-based university “gave me a chance to lead, and so it has been deeply rewarding to watch the university grow and flourish even more.”

Simons, who is now 85, went from academia to Wall Street, where he founded Renaissance Technologies, one of the world’s largest hedge funds. Forbes estimated Simons’ net worth at $21.6 billion in 2019.

Simons and his wife, Marilyn, started the Simons Foundation in 1994 to support research in mathematics and the basic sciences.

The foundation has made several previous donations to Stony Brook, where Marilyn Simons received her bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. in economics. The gift announced Thursday will bring the total amount that the couple and their foundation have pledged to Stony Brook to $1.2 billion, foundation officials said.

“Jim and I want to ensure that Stony Brook continues to serve its students with the highest level of educational excellence and with world-class resources,” Marilyn Simons said. “The foundation’s gift will also help give those from underserved communities the opportunity to reach their full potential.”

The gift to Stony Brook is among the largest that U.S. colleges or universities have received in recent years.

In 2022, venture capitalist John Doerr and his wife, Ann, pledged $1.1 billion to Stanford University to build a new school focused on climate change.

A small private college in Kansas, McPherson College, received an anonymous pledge of $500 million in matching funds to its endowment last year. It must raise the funds to be matched by the end of the month in order to receive the full amount.

Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and his wife, Connie, gave $425 million to the University of Oregon in 2022 for a new institute on children’s behavioral health.

Hedge fund founder Kenneth Griffin gave Harvard University $300 million earlier this year.

New York state officials said the donation to Stony Brook could grow by up to $1 billion through a state matching program proposed by Gov. Kathy Hochul and through other philanthropy inspired by the Simons Foundation’s gift.

“I do believe it’s inspiring others to step forward and to say, ‘Let’s make similar investments,’” Hochul said at the announcement ceremony. “Because I am saying a public institution like Stony Brook has no limits right now.”

___

Associated Press writer Thalia Beaty contributed to this report.

United States News

Two women hug as Muslim and Jewish women gather at an interfaith workshop on the Israeli-Palestinia...

Associated Press

In US, some Muslim-Jewish interfaith initiatives are strained by Israel-Hamas war

Shireen Quaizar was wracked with doubt. For years, the school psychologist has been active in Muslim-Jewish interfaith dialogue, but the Israel-Hamas war left her reeling. “What are we doing with talking to each other?” she recalled thinking, frustrated by a conversation about the exact number of Palestinians killed in an Israeli airstrike. “This doesn’t work.” […]

2 hours ago

FILE - Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., leaves the Capitol after being expelled from the House of Repres...

Associated Press

Republicans had New Yorkers lead the way in expelling Santos. Will it help them keep the majority?

WASHINGTON (AP) — George Santos is gone from the House, but his name is certain to pop up in key congressional races across New York next year. Democrats are targeting five seats held by first-term Republicans and looking to associate them with their former colleague in the state’s congressional delegation as often as they can. […]

2 hours ago

This photo provided by Mattel shows a Barbie doll of Wilma Mankiller. Toy maker Mattel is honoring ...

Associated Press

Barbie doll honoring Cherokee Nation leader is met with mixed emotions

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An iconic chief of the Cherokee Nation, Wilma Mankiller, inspired countless Native American children as a powerful but humble leader who expanded early education and rural healthcare. Her reach is now broadening with a quintessential American honor: a Barbie doll in the late Mankiller’s likeness as part of toymaker Mattel’s “Inspiring […]

10 hours ago

Notes from students expressing support and sharing coping strategies paper a wall, as members of th...

Associated Press

Lacking counselors, US schools turn to the booming business of online therapy

Trouble with playground bullies started for Maria Ishoo’s daughter in elementary school. Girls ganged up, calling her “fat” and “ugly.” Boys tripped and pushed her. The California mother watched her typically bubbly second-grader retreat into her bedroom and spend afternoons curled up in bed. For Valerie Aguirre’s daughter in Hawaii, a spate of middle school […]

10 hours ago

Associated Press

Authorities identify suspect in killing of 3 homeless men in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles man already in custody in connection with another shooting investigation has been identified as the suspect in three recent killings of homeless men, police said Saturday. Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said Jerrid Joseph Powell, 33, was identified as the suspect in the three killings after authorities […]

16 hours ago

Associated Press

Report: Contaminants being removed from vacant Chicago lot where migrant housing is planned

CHICAGO (AP) — High levels of mercury and other contaminants are being removed from a vacant Chicago lot where a tent camp housing 2,000 migrants is planned, a report from a consultant hired by the city said. The Chicago Tribune reported that the nearly 800-page assessment by Terracon Consultants released Friday night said high levels […]

17 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

Follow @KTAR923...

The best ways to honor our heroes on Veterans Day and give back to the community

Veterans Day is fast approaching and there's no better way to support our veterans than to donate to the Military Assistance Mission.

...

Midwestern University

Midwestern University: innovating Arizona health care education

Midwestern University’s Glendale Campus near Loop 101 and 59th Avenue is an established leader in health care education and one of Arizona’s largest and most valuable health care resources.

...

SCHWARTZ LASER EYE CENTER

Key dates for Arizona sports fans to look forward to this fall

Fall brings new beginnings in different ways for Arizona’s professional sports teams like the Cardinals and Coyotes.

Stony Brook University gets $500 million from hedge fund founder who taught math there