06/13/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 06/13/2025 08:34
The Center for Inclusive Education (CIE) hosted its annual Graduation Celebration and Pinning Ceremony on May 28, celebrating the scholars who completed academic milestones this year. Numerous members of the CIE community gathered to celebrate 27 graduating PhD and master's students, two post-doctoral fellows, and 11 PhD students advancing to candidacy.
The CIE provides transformative support to 209 interdisciplinary scholars in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Renaissance School of Medicine. Using a holistic approach that includes financial, academic, professional development, and social support, the CIE drives innovation, inclusive excellence, and social mobility at Stony Brook University.
By managing programs including the Turner Fellowshipand the new CIE SBU Scholars program, the CIE retains and empowers excellent scholars from diverse and traditionally underserved backgrounds to carry out high quality research and become workforce leaders.
The event opened with remarks from Carl Lejuez, provost and executive vice president, and Celia Marshik, dean of the Graduate School and vice provost for graduate and professional education.
Reflecting on the role the CIE plays in graduate student success, Marshik cited the CIE's consistent and multifaceted support of its scholars. "The CIE is the gold standard for supporting student success," she said. "The communities the CIE nurtures, as well as the extensive programming the CIE offers for students in each community, helps students find a place of belonging outside of their degree programs, and CIE staff are a source of unwavering support for their scholars."
From left: Dean of The Graduate School Celia Marshik, PhD graduate Lajhon St. Michael Campbell, and CIE Director Karian Wright.Graduating scholars and postdoctoral scholars were given a CIE certificate and an opportunity to reflect on their SBU experience.
Grace Wivell, a CIE Turner Dissertation Fellow who is graduating with her PhD in Linguistics, said, "I don't think I would be graduating with my PhD without the CIE community. I would like to take that sense of community and try to build it in other places I go after I leave Stony Brook."
Robert Burroughs, an CIE IRACDA postdoctoral scholar, added, "The CIE is a strong, inclusive community that has been very supportive during a period of time that has been very transitory. It's been a lot of fun to be part of a community that is vivacious and engaging."
Graduating scholars also bestowed first year graduate students with a CIE Pin to recognize this important step in their academic journey.
"The CIE is a family away from home that I know I can lean on when things go south," reflected Jayla Evans, a first year PhD student in Chemistry and a member of the CIE Bridge to the Doctorate program and the CIE Community of Student Mentors program. "The open arms of the staff are such a breath of fresh air during the hard transition from undergrad to graduate school."
Annual CIE awards were given to one student and one faculty member who have gone above and beyond this year. Adrian McAfee, a first year in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics and CIE Turner Fellow, won the CIE Scholar Award for Excellence for their impressive academic and teaching accomplishments. J. Anibal Boscoboinik won the CIE Excellence in Mentoring Award in recognition of his holistic and empowering support of his graduate students.
Karian Wright, director of the Center for Inclusive Education and assistant dean for diversity and inclusion in The Graduate School, is now planning for the CIE's future.
"The CIE serves as a vital lifeline for graduate students from historically underrepresented backgrounds," Wright said. "With the cancellation of several of our federal grants that supported highly qualified graduate students, it is important that the CIE expand its portfolio of funding support to ensure the long-term sustainability of the CIE so that we can continue this vital work."
Next year, the CIE will celebrate its 25th year, having supported a network of almost 1,000 alumni. The CIE looks forward to collaborating with the Advancement Department and the Office of Alumni Relations to launch a new CIE Alumni Association to further expand Stony Brook University's transformative impact in the global community.
- Abigail Nishimura and Kyleigh Retzlaff