Stony Brook Lauded for Upward Mobility by The Wall Street Journal

Stony Brook University's success in providing real economic mobility for its students - particularly low-income and first-generation students - was recently recognized by The Wall Street Journal, confirming Stony Brook's position as one of the best and most affordable public universities in the nation.

Roland Fryer, a professor of economics at Harvard University, founder of Equal Opportunity Ventures and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, wrote an opinion piece in the May 6 edition of The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) that recognized Stony Brook as one of the institutions that pairs high access for low-income students with strong success rates. This produces a mobility rate of 8.4 percent, which represents the number of students who come from the bottom fifth of income distribution and end up in the top fifth.

"The point isn't that every private college underperforms every public college," Fryer said. "It is that upward mobility is available, at scale, outside the prestige hierarchy and often at much lower prices."

Fryer reviews the growing number of private colleges closing in the United States and the broader "market correction" happening across higher education. He suggests that students and families are increasingly prioritizing affordability, outcomes, and upward mobility when making their college choice.

In her April 18 investiture ceremony, Stony Brook University President Andrea Goldsmith noted that 40 percent of Stony Brook students are the first generation in their families to earn a college degree, and more than 40 percent are federal Pell Grant-eligible, meaning they are students from families least able to afford college.

"For these students, and all our students, a Stony Brook education doesn't just transform their lives, it also reshapes what is possible for their families and their communities," Goldsmith said.

Stony Brook University is New York's flagship university and No. 1 public university, part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. A distinguished center of innovation, Stony Brook's membership in the Association of American Universities (AAU) places it among the top 71 research institutions in North America. It embraces its mission to provide comprehensive undergraduate, graduate and professional education of the highest quality, and is ranked as the #59 overall university and #26 among public universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges.