IN THE NEWS May 2026 - August 2026 Prepared by The Office of Communications and University Relations
May 2026
Scott Bickard, a Bethpage native, ran the Long Island Marathon in high school just for fun. … Bickard now lives in Bellerose, Queens, but still is on Long Island often. Since January 2022, he has been the intramural sports and recreation coordinator at SUNY Old Westbury. Along with his responsibilities as a coordinator, he is the interim head coach of the women’s flag football team — and his players may be in for a surprise. “I don’t even know if they knew I ran in this marathon,” Bickard said with a laugh. “But I got to tell them. I’ll see them next week. That’ll be good.”
May 13, 2026
Available online at: https://liberalarts.temple.edu/news/2026/05/molefi-kete-asante-awardedinaugural-suny-old-westbury-presidential-medal
Available online at: https://www.innovateli.com/no-1070-on-eminent-indian-institutions-plate-spins-and-ice-cream-plus-afew-independent-thoughts/
HomeCommunityIIT Bombay Expands To US With First American Campus
IIT Bombay Expands To US With First American Campus
July 7, 2026
India-West News Desk
NEW YORK, NY – IIT Bombay will establish the first Indian Institute of Technology sub-campus in the United States through a partnership with the State University of New York (SUNY) at Old Westbury. Academic programs are scheduled to begin in 2027. The sub-campus will operate from SUNY Old Westbury’s Long Island campus, becoming the first IIT to offer its own academic programs in the United States. The partnership was formalized on June 26 with the signing of a Letter of Intent by IIT Bombay Director Professor Shireesh Kedare and SUNY Old Westbury President Dr. Timothy E. Sams. India’s Consul General in New York, Binaya S., was present at the signing ceremony. Sams described IIT Bombay as a world-class institution and said the partnership would strengthen teaching, innovation and academic excellence in engineering and physics. The campus will initially offer certificate programs in artificial intelligence, sustainability and clean technology. IIT Bombay also plans to establish research laboratories before expanding to undergraduate, postgraduate and research degree programs in later phases.
In addition to academic programs, the partnership will include faculty and researcher exchanges, joint research projects, conferences and multidisciplinary collaboration in emerging areas of science and technology. Kedare said the partnership would allow IIT Bombay to focus on academics instead of the land acquisition and regulatory approvals needed to establish an independent campus. He also noted that SUNY Old Westbury does not currently have an engineering department, making the collaboration beneficial for both institutions. “IIT Bombay will directly conduct its own courses in the US,” Kedare said in a statement. Welcoming the partnership, India’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan called it a “vibrant corridor of knowledge” between India and the United States. He said it would strengthen engineering education, research and technology while creating new opportunities for students and academics in both countries. The US campus follows IIT Madras’ campus in Zanzibar and IIT Delhi’s campus in Abu Dhabi as IITs continue to expand overseas. Rahul Choudaha, principal at Dr Education Research, said the project represents a different approach to international expansion by an Indian institution. India has 23 IITs, a network of autonomous engineering, technology and research institutions governed by the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961.
The article may be viewed at https://indiawest.com/iit-bombay-expands-to-us-with-first-american-campus/
IIT Bombay, SUNY Old Westbury tie up for science, engineering and AI programmes IIT Bombay and SUNY Old Westbury have signed a letter of intent for new science and engineering programmes and joint research. The move deepens India-US academic cooperation, with artificial intelligence and faculty exchanges among early priorities. The announcement was made on Friday after IIT Bombay Director Prof Shireesh Kedare and SUNY Old Westbury President Dr Timothy E Sams signed a letter of intent in New York in the presence of Consul General of India in New York Binaya Pradhan. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Higher Education Secretary Dr Vineet Joshi and Indian Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra attended the announcement virtually. According to a statement by SUNY Old Westbury, the partnership will begin with efforts to create new academic programmes in science and engineering while also drawing up plans for joint research. Early areas of cooperation are expected to include visits and exchanges of faculty members and researchers, joint research work, and the development of joint conferences or symposia. These early-stage steps will continue as work on new degree programmes takes shape. Dharmendra Pradhan welcomed the announcement by the two institutes to “explore collaboration in engineering, multidisciplinary research, technology and other emerging areas of the future”. In a post on X, he said, “Such collaborations enrich our research culture, open new avenues for our students, scholars and learners and build enduring bridges of knowledge to address global challenges while carrying India's intellectual strengths to the world.” Kedare said, “IIT Bombay is excited to work with SUNY Old Westbury, whose leadership is committed to quality education and is forward-looking in its outlook.” He added, “Considering that our strengths are complementary, we believe that our partnership has the ability to scale great heights.” Describing IIT Bombay as a world-class institution, Sams said SUNY Old Westbury was excited to establish a direct partnership that advances teaching, innovation and excellence in disciplines such as physics and engineering, with the goal of creating a “robust IIT Bombay presence on our campus so that together we can prepare the next generation of leaders who will fuel success across our region, state, nation and world.” Speaking on the occasion, Kwatra stressed the importance of strengthening academic and technological collaboration between the two institutions and of building deeper partnerships in research, innovation and higher education. Joshi described the IIT Bombay-SUNY Old Westbury partnership as a “new and proud” chapter in the India-US partnership in higher education and research, and “one of the most consequential”. The collaboration is the latest in a recent series of partnerships between leading higher education institutions in India and the US, underlining the scope for deeper academic and research ties between the two countries.
Visit article online at: SUNY Old Westbury earns seventh Tree Campus USA® recognition | Long Island, NY Patch
Available online at: https://www.innovateli.com/no-1019-in-which-toilets-shine-tourism-stays-home-and-the-gettysburgaddress-speeds-by-heads-up-men/
These colleges are stepping up for students impacted by Howard University’s mass unenrollment From New York to Maryland, colleges are opening their doors with expedited adm is s ions and s upport for s tudents who were unenrolled from Howard. By HANIYAH P.
J UL 31, 2026
Earlier this m onth, hundreds of incom ing s tudents reported receiving an em ail notification that they were unenrolled from Howard Univers ity due to a m is s ed paym ent deadline. As previous ly reported by theGrio, the news rattled s tudents and their fam ilies a cros s the country, as their dream s of attending the HBCU they had previous ly com m itted to were das hed weeks before their anticipa ted m ove-in date. While the univers ity claim s to ha ve s ent m ultiple m es s ages ahead of the paym ent deadline, s tudents told the Grio tha t they received notifications with conflicting dates and in s om e ca s es , had pending s chola rs hips that would cover the cos ts of the s em es ter. “I know I’m s uppos ed to check all m y s tuff, but that’s what I did, a nd I was jus t m is led,” Kendra K., an incom ing fres hm an from Atlanta , Georgia, told the Grio. “We unders tand tha t the enrollm ent update tha t was is s ued yes terda y is difficult a nd dis appointing for s tudents and their fam ilies ,” the HBCU wrote in a s tatem ent s hared on J uly 23. Since the news broke, Howard Univers ity’s interim pres ident, Wa yne A. I. Frederick, confirm ed tha t over 200 of the nearly 500 s tudents im pacted by the m as s unenrollm ent have been reins tated into HBCU’s Clas s of 2030. However, for the nearly 300 s tudents who ha ve not rega ined their s pots in Howard’s fres hm an clas s , s evera l univers ities and officia ls have com m itted to opening their doors to the s tudents and fam ilies affected by the news . Maryland: New York New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that s elect s chools in the State Univers ity of New York and City Univers ity of Mos t recently, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore announced a partners hip with the Univers ity Sys tem of Maryland (USM) to help New York s ys tem s are expediting late adm is s ions reviews for affected s tudents . Additionally, thes e New York s tudents “continue with their educa tion with as little interruption as pos s ible.” To do s o, Moore has directed the Maryland s chools will als o provide an $800 credit to offs et the non-refundable depos its thes e s tudents previous ly m ade. Higher Education Com m is s ion and the USM to es tablis h a coordinated proces s to help affected s tudents identify “Hundreds of s tudents , including Newaid Yorkers , are s cram and s cared s ince they’ve disat enrolled from available program s , na vigate financial options , and s eekbling expedited review for late admbeen is s ions participa tingtheir USM jus t a few weeks Additionally, before clas s es s et to begin,” Governor Hochul aid intoa offs preset s releas e. “New insintended titutionscollege with available capacity. theare governor has com m itted an $800 scredit the nonrefundable York isent hom e to theing nation’s t s ys temto s of public higher education, and we are ready to welcom e thes e talented enrollm and hous deposfines its they paid Howa rd Univers ity. s tudents with the opportunity they des erve. To every s tudent who is worried that their educa tional future has been dis rupted: New worked York is ready to s upport emto power you.” “Thes e s tudents ha rd, earned admand is s ion college, and were preparing to begin the next chapter of their lives ,” Gov. Moore s aid in a pres s releas e s ha red with theGrio. “Maryland is m oving with urgency to give them a clea r path The participa ting univers ities include: forward—with hands -on s upport, expedited adm is s ions as s is tance, and financial relief—s o they can s ta y on track toward earning their degree.” • Univers ity at Albany • Bingham ton Univers ity Gov. Moore, USM, and MHEC are working together to field s tudents ’ interes t through this em ail os fam ail.m hec@ USM • Univers ity at Buffalo s chools include: • Stony Brook Univers ity • Alfred State College • • Bowie te Univers ity SUNYSta Brockport • • Coppin Sta te Univers SUNY Buffalo Sta te ity Univers ity • • Fros tburg State Univers ity SUNY Canton • • Salis bury Univers Farm ingdale Staity te College • • Tows on Univers ity SUNY New Paltz • • Univers Baltim ore SUNYity OldofWes tbury • • Univers ity of Maryland (Baltim ore, Baltim ore County, College Park, Eas tern Shore) SUNY Oneonta • SUNY Purchas e m aryland.gov, and are working with all the s chools within USM to accom m odate thes e s tudents . The full article m ay be viewed at https :/ / thegrio.com / 2026/ 07/ 31/ thes e-colleges -are-s tepping-up-for-s tudents -im pactedby-howard-univers itys -m as s -unenrollm ent/
Available online at: https://www.cfo.com/news/how-brookhaven-national-laboratory-cfo-susanmckeon-old-westbury-finances-big-science-ion-collider-/827973/
Office of Communications & University Relations Mail: P.O. Box 210, Old Westbury, N.Y. 11568 Phone: 516-876-3162 Web: www.oldwestbury.edu/communications-relations