Jim Morgo Appointed to Stony Brook Council

The Stony Brook Council's newest member is Jim Morgo, a former educator and Suffolk County official who has lately been known for his work in affordable housing and economic development, the university announced Monday.

The council is a body of 10 individuals who oversee major decisions and developments at Stony Brook University, consisting of nine appointed members who serve seven-year terms and one student member elected by peers every other year. Morgo replaces John Cochrane, whose term expired.

"Jim's passion for education, housing and economic development runs deeper than anyone in public service," council chairman Kevin Law said in a statement. "I can not think of a finer person to join the SBU Council and look forward to working with Jim once again."

Morgo, of Bayport, is president of a private consulting business, the chairman of the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency, and the economic development coordinator for the Town of Brookhaven. Early in his career he spent 14 years as an English teacher at Bayport-Blue Point High School, and in 2009, he lost his bid for a town council seat in Islip.

He is no stranger to Stony Brook. He has taken graduate classes there, and he said he was a guest lecturer multiple times between 1988 and 1990, when the Harriman School of Business was home to the Long Island Housing Partnership, of which Morgo was the first president and CEO.

Morgo said he learned this past fall that he had been nominated for the post, and after a lengthy process that included a lot of paperwork and a background check, he was informed in early November that he would be appointed to the council. Formerly the chief deputy county executive of Suffolk County, a county legislator, and a Suffolk Community College trustee, Morgo believes he has a lot to offer.

"I've been working on economic development, how to make the entire Long Island region sustainable," he said. "Stony Brook is an economic engine. ... It has so much untapped potential. I hope to make that potential real."

In an interview Tuesday, Morgo touched on some recent hot-button issues.

He favors the Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act (PHEEIA), which the New York State legislature . The bill would have given the school power to set its own tuition rates.

"I think that [PHEEIA] is very important," Morgo said. "I'm totally supportive of that bill."

And he said the story has not yet ended yet for Stony Brook Southampton.

"I think there's still potential for that campus," he said.

The Stony Brook Council was recently in the spotlight as the focal point of a lawsuit filed in April by several former Southampton students, who sued Stony Brook over what they alleged were illegally made program changes and cuts at the Shinnecock Hills campus. In August, , saying that the university failed to actively involve the council in that decision.

The council passed a resolution in October , but students and elected officials later said they would continue to . The SUNY Board of Trustees ratified the Southampton decision in November, but a court injunction still in place has prevented the university from making any additional changes at Southampton.