Stony Brook University leaders took part in a national panel at the 2025 Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities (APLU) Council on Governmental Affairs and Council on Research Joint Summer Meeting. The event was held at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the week of July 27. Stony Brook’s vice president for research and innovation, Kevin Gardner, and associate vice president for federal relations, Lauren Brookmeyer, spoke about the importance of collaboration between research leadership and federal relations teams.
Their session, titled “Powering Research: SRO & Government Relations Partnership,” brought together senior research officers and federal relations professionals from across the country. The discussion focused on how partnerships between these roles can help universities secure competitive federal funding and influence science policy in a changing environment.
Gardner and Brookmeyer described how Stony Brook aligns its research and federal relations offices to respond to challenges, seek funding opportunities, and position itself in national conversations about research and policy. They appeared alongside representatives from Oregon State University and Colorado State University.
“Our strategic partnership with Federal Relations is a force multiplier for our research mission,” said Gardner. “It allows us to compete for critical federal funding and ensure that our faculty’s work is recognized and helps shape national priorities. This collaboration is key to translating our science and innovations to drive the U.S. economy and technological advancement.”
Panelists discussed strategies such as joint advocacy planning, coordinated outreach to policymakers, navigating current funding challenges, communicating research impact, and building internal processes for effective advocacy.
“In today’s federal environment, strong coordination between our research operations and our federal relations work isn’t just helpful — it’s essential,” said Brookmeyer. “At Stony Brook, we prioritize this internal synergy because it allows us to be more impactful externally. Our ability to secure congressional support, anticipate policy shifts, and elevate the visibility of our research depends on these partnerships.”
The session addressed ways universities can create frameworks for collaboration that address immediate policy issues while also strengthening long-term research capacity.
Gardner serves on APLU’s Council on Research Executive Committee while Brookmeyer chairs the Council on Governmental Affairs. Their roles reflect Stony Brook’s involvement in shaping higher education advocacy efforts at the national level.
