Stony Brook University hosted its annual CommUniversity Day on September 27, drawing 3,300 visitors to the campus. The event aimed to bring together students, faculty, healthcare professionals, and local residents through a range of interactive exhibits and demonstrations.
The open house featured over 100 activities across themed neighborhoods focusing on science and technology, health, arts, and safety. Stony Brook University President Andrea Goldsmith addressed the campus community about the significance of the event: “CommUniversity Day is a dynamic event where we showcase many of the things that make Stony Brook unique. Our students, faculty, healthcare heroes, first responders, campus partners and community organizations have put together countless interactive activities, including a teddy bear clinic, instrument petting zoo, marching band performances and health screenings.”
In the Health neighborhood, attendees participated in screenings and learned about wellness topics. Physical Therapy students offered balance tests for fall risk assessment. The School of Dental Medicine conducted more than 225 dental checks while providing information on oral hygiene and related health issues.
Astrid Bucaro, a third-year dental student who volunteered at the event, explained their outreach efforts: “A lot of people don’t realize that we’re not only a school, but also a clinic, and we treat a lot of patients in the community. We’re here to give some oral hygiene and oral health information to the community. We have information about diabetes and different types of oral health conditions, and we also have a free screening for adults and kids.” She noted increased interest from visitors seeking affordable care options: “Some people either don’t have insurance or might have insurance but the office they’re at right now isn’t giving them a price they can afford. Our team of dental students, supervised by our dental professors, are able to check for oral cancer or provide any quick screening we might have.”
Other highlights included cardiovascular health education by Heart Institute staff and the Pediatric Trauma Injury Prevention program’s Teddy Bear Clinic. In this activity children learned about medical procedures using stuffed animals as teaching tools.
Safety demonstrations involved fire trucks and emergency vehicles as well as fire prevention education. The Tech and Discovery neighborhood showcased research initiatives such as aquatic animal displays from Long Island Aquarium and hands-on experiments.
Derek O’Connor from Stony Brook’s Office for Research and Innovation described workforce development efforts: “We’re showing what we’re able to present not just to the Stony Brook community, but to our Long Island community partners in the workforce and K-12 ecosystem,” he said. “We’re showcasing our geothermal pipe installation training program, which we run with Suffolk Community College for HVAC students, and a new program with WhyMaker to help K-12 students learn how renewable energy can power batteries and be harnessed for energy consumption.”
Short presentations called “Find Out in 15” allowed students to share their research across various disciplines. The Arts neighborhood featured music performances alongside cultural displays such as Chinese calligraphy.
Local resident Jennifer Yang attended with her grandchildren: “Most of my visits involving Stony Brook lately have been to Stony Brook doctors,” she said. “So it’s nice to come to campus on such a beautiful day and see what’s going on here. My grandkids had a great time at the Teddy Bear Clinic.”
The second annual LEGO competition was held during CommUniversity Day with entries from elementary through high school students as well as university affiliates. A panel including university leaders—President Goldsmith; Bill Wertheim; Carl Lejuez; Carol Gomes; David Wrobel; Patricia Cooper—and public officials Senator Anthony Palumbo; Assemblywoman Rebecca Kassay; Port Jefferson Mayor Lauren Sheprow—judged participants’ models depicting their vision of community.
CommUniversity Day coincided with Family Weekend at Stony Brook University ahead of the Seawolves football team’s win over Merrimack.