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Schools

Bishop Vows To Continue Fighting for Four-Year Program at Stony Brook Southampton

Semester-long residencies are a good start but not enough, congressman says.

is pressing on for a four-year residential program at .

During a Q&A with constituents Tuesday at in Southampton, his home town, the congressman said he is encouraged by ’s recently announced at the campus in Shinnecock Hills for visiting students, but the news fell short of his ultimate goal to have the campus restored to a four-year residential college.

“I support and endorse what they’re doing so far, but I am going to continue to push for a permanent residential population,” Bishop told the audience at Rogers. “Having students there for six months at a time or a year at a time is better than what’s going on there now, but I think in terms of building a college community and, hopefully, getting Southampton to once again be a college town, I think you need a permanent student population, freshman through seniors.”

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Before being elected to Congress in 2002, Bishop was the provost of Southampton College, the campus’ identity when owned and operated it. Stony Brook University bought the campus in 2006 and rebranded it as Stony Brook Southampton.

Stony Brook established an undergraduate environmental sustainability program at its new campus, but last year moved the program to its main campus and shuttered the dorms. Then at the end of February this year, Stony Brook announced plans to reopen the dorms by expanding its creative arts and marine science offerings to include “Semester by the Sea” and “Semester by the Shore,” residential programs for visiting students.

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Bishop said the new initiatives are a significant sign of good faith from the Stony Brook administrators, considering they are contending with a third year in a row of state funding cuts. Stony Brook, a State University of New York school, is facing a $25 million cut this year, he said.

Stony Brook officials have said the programs would be revenue neutral, funded through tuition payments.

Bishop added that he is hopeful the programs will take hold and be something to build on so there will be no more worrying for the future of the campus.

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