The Simons Infinity Investment
What is the Simons Infinity Investment?
On June 1, 2023, Stony Brook University received the Simons Infinity Investment, which is the largest unrestricted endowment gift in the history of higher education. This will allow the university to utilize the funds based on where the resources are needed most at that moment. And it is important to highlight that this multiyear investment will take several years to build to its full, sustaining impact.
How is the gift structured?
The Simons gift will be disbursed over a seven-year period. Within the first three years, the initial $200 million will serve as a challenge to other philanthropists. This means that Stony Brook will only receive the first $200 million from the Simons Foundation when an additional $200 million is raised from other supporters in either restricted or unrestricted endowment gifts. In 2027, the university will receive another $100 million from the Simons Foundation endowment gift. Then, the remaining $200 million will be gifted to the university over the final three years.
Additionally, under New York state’s 1:2 matching program, the state will provide an additional dollar for every two endowment dollars raised.
The Simons Infinity Investment, along with the New York state match, will expand the size of the university’s endowment and will pave the way for greater freedom to invest strategically and respond to emerging opportunities for years to come.
The Simons Infinity Investment could total $1 billion in funds for Stony Brook’s endowment and cement Stony Brook’s place as New York’s flagship of the future.
Will the Simons Foundation be making any recommendations on what should be done with the gift?
No. The gift is unrestricted, and Stony Brook University will decide where and how the gift is implemented.
What does Stony Brook University plan to do with the $500 million endowment gift?
This historic level of support will transform Stony Brook by giving the university the means to invest in areas most urgent and necessary for our communities, our state and the world. The endowment allows the university to invest to meet immediate needs and make strategic plans for its future. This gift increases the size of the university’s endowment and will pave the way for greater freedom to invest strategically and respond to emerging needs and opportunities, such as supporting stable funding for student scholarships for a diverse student body, endowed professorships, innovative research, development of new academic fields, provision of excellent clinical care and university rankings and reputation.
Why did the Simons Foundation make such a large gift to the Stony Brook University’s endowment?
Both Jim Simons, Hon. ’92 and Marilyn Hawrys Simons ’74, PhD ’84, Hon. ’08, co-founders of the Simons Foundation, have connections to Stony Brook University and have generously supported the institution for decades. The Simons Foundation continues to invest in Stony Brook University’s future as an internationally renowned research institution with a contribution of a $500 million unrestricted endowment gift.
Why has the Simons Foundation partnered to support Stony Brook University specifically?
Jim and Marilyn Simons both have personal relationships with the university. Jim joined Stony Brook as chair of the mathematics department in 1968, and Marilyn is a double alumna of Stony Brook. They met at the university and built a life and legacy of giving back to their communities. The Simons Foundation’s support, along with foundation President David Spergel’s ongoing commitment to advancing the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences over the past several decades, has enabled Stony Brook to earn its place as the top public university in New York state. This gift will cement Stony Brook as New York’s flagship of the future, helping the institution to continue to meet and exceed its commitment to educational excellence, research innovation and community investment.
What is the Simons Foundation?
The Simons Foundation was founded in 1994 by Jim and Marilyn Simons to advance the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences.
What is the Simons Foundation’s history with Stony Brook University?
Since its formation in 1994, Jim and Marilyn Simons and the Simons Foundation have donated over $1.225 billion to Stony Brook while also inspiring over 2,100 other donors to give to the university. Their transformational support has impacted every corner of the Stony Brook campus and beyond, from the Renaissance School of Medicine and the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics to the new Stony Brook Simons STEM Scholars program and more.
In addition to this historic gift and previous gifts to Stony Brook University, most recently, following Stony Brook’s successful bid to serve as the anchor institution of The New York Climate Exchange, the Simons Foundation committed $100 million of the project’s expected $700 million budget. These funds will help establish a climate research, education and green-economy training hub, set to transform how the world responds to the climate crisis and pioneer investigation into environmental, community and health outcomes and impacts. Endowment funds will not be used for this initiative.
More Information
For more information about Endowments, please contact:
Scott Barrett
Interim Vice President Advancement and Interim Executive Director Stony Brook Foundation
(631) 632-9128