Sillerman took the job on two conditions: that the college scrap ill-defined liberal-arts programs and focus on marine science and creative writing, and that he lead publicity.

He named Kermit the Frog as the 1996 commencement speaker: 31 newspapers picked up the story, creating a free marketing bonanza that raised the college's profile and drew hundreds of new admissions.

Refocusing on the marine science curriculum garnered the campus several accolades, including being named in 1998 as the Cousteau Society's sole North American Affiliate.

After many years of fiscal mismanagement, the University announced a multimillion-dollar capital campaign, launched a new interdisciplinary CORE curriculum and the construction of a new library to re-vamp the campus.

Although protests and advocacy, including a rally by the non-profit Save The College at Southampton and the student-led organization The Orphans of L.I.U., made numerous headlines with their actions, Undergraduate Programs ceased, and all but a few campus buildings were shuttered by the end of Summer 2005.

SUNY paid US $35 million for the 84-acre (340,000 m2) campus and its waterfront facility for its famed Marine Biology Department, as well as the NPR-affiliated WLIU FM 88.3 radio station.

[2] In the agreement to take over WLIU, it states that the station is to continue its LIU affiliation and move from its broadcasting studios in Chancellors Hall by April 2010 to another location on Hill Street in Southampton.

[4]In 1957 the playwright Tennessee Williams rented the 3-story windmill cottage and while there wrote "The Day on Which a Man Dies", a fictional play loosely based on his friend Jackson Pollock.

Under Stony Brook University's new ownership and starting with a class of 200 in August 2007, the campus featured an innovative curriculum devoted to issues of sustainability and the environment.

[7] Interdisciplinary study, small class size, and one-on-one advising form the foundation of The Lichtenstein Center experience, where close student-faculty relationships are a priority.

Remaining hours are devoted to lectures, readings, performances workshops, and panel discussions featuring faculty members and distinguished visiting authors, editors, publishers, and agents.

Participants also enjoy a myriad of formal and informal social gatherings—author receptions, an open-mic night, breakfasts, lunches and dinners under the tents, and an issue launch of The Southampton Review.