Maurie McInnis is the sixth president of Stony Brook University, an internationally recognized public research institution and center of academic excellence designated as a flagship university in New York State and ranked as the number one public university in the state under her leadership. Appointed in July 2020, President McInnis also oversees Stony Brook Medicine, Long Island’s premier academic medical center. She is a key player in furthering economic development on Long Island and in Stony Brook’s role as part of the management team of nearby Brookhaven National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy facility.

In April 2023, the City of New York and The Trust for Governors Island selected the New York Climate Exchange, a historic new partnership led by President McInnis and Stony Brook University, to create a climate science solutions center on Governors Island. The Exchange brings together universities, researchers, non-profits, community leaders, entrepreneurs and businesses to devise innovative, equitable climate solutions that can be brought to market,  scaled and applied globally. Under President McInnis’ leadership in June 2023, the largest unrestricted endowment gift to a higher education institution in American history was made by the Simons Foundation–$500 million–to Stony Brook University.

President McInnis is focused on providing a high-quality, affordable education for all students, which has resulted in a diverse student population that includes more than one-third of students who are Pell Grant-eligible, one-third who are the first in their families to go to college, and more than twenty percent underrepresented minority students. She continues to advance opportunities to recruit accomplished faculty to improve teaching and learning, conduct groundbreaking research, provide the best clinical care for patients, and boost students’ socioeconomic mobility.

A renowned cultural historian and author, President McInnis’ academic scholarship has focused on race, slavery, and power in the 19th century American South. She brings to Stony Brook her humanist values, among them her conviction that institutes of higher learning should use their expertise and influence to address major societal problems. Before coming to Stony Brook, she served four years as executive vice president and provost at the University of Texas at Austin and spent nearly 20 years at the University of Virginia in various academic and administrative appointments.