Stony Brook: A University's History

The State University College on Long Island held its first classes on September 17, 1957, on the grounds of Planting Fields

The State University of New York announced the opening of the State University College on Long Island at Oyster Bay in 1957

Massive portraits, rich tapestries, and moose and elk heads adorned the first floor walls

An Elizabethan-inspired, carved granite staircase lead to the six second floor classrooms, furnished with seminar tables to accommodate classes

The students pictured here are studying in the library

Coe Hall's "Coffee Shop" became the center of the social activity

Pre-fabricated buildings were installed in close proximity to Coe Hall to provide additional space for classrooms, laboratories, and faculty offices

Newly hired professor Dr. Joseph Silverman of the Chemistry Department is pictured here in a laboratory with two Natural Science I students

The Class of 1961, the first graduating class from the State University of New York, Long Island, posed in Coe Hall's west portico for their yearbook photograph

Planting Fields' lush landscape served as an idyllic setting for the University's first commencement exercises, held on June 4, 1961