The State University of New York (SUNY), the largest state university system in the United States consists of 64 separate campuses including Stony Brook University.

SUNY's governance structure derives from its initial statutory creation as a corporation within the State Education Department. Today, the SUNY Board of Trustees ("Board") is vested with the legal responsibility and authority to administer university operations and academic matters,including granting degrees, regulating curricula and appointing senior staff and faculty. In addition, a local body known as a campus council, supervises the operations and affairs of each institution, subject to the general supervision and control of the SUNY Board

The Chancellor is the chief executive officer of the State University of New York. The University Faculty Senate consisting of the Chancellor and representatives from each campus is the “official agency through which the University Faculty engages in the governance of the University...” (Policies of the Board of Trustees, 1994 Article VII, Title A)