On Thursday, the day after inauguration week commenced, Deputy to the President and Overall Coordinator for Inauguration Week, George Meyer sat down in his office and took a deep breath before beginning to speak.

Meyer, along with faculty members from various departments, began strategically planning the Inauguration for Stony Brook’s fifth president, Samuel L. Stanley Jr. in August.

The weeklong celebration featured 40 events, all of which Meyer attended. Stanley requested that many different aspects of the campus community be included and that it remain inexpensive.

“It is a chance for the campus and bigger community to get to know the president,” Meyer said. ”Show all that Stony Brook has already accomplished and what it could do.”

The total cost was $100,000-a small sum compared with other university inaugurations, according to Meyer, who has worked on campus for more than 30 years.

According to an article from The Daily Campus, a student publication from the University of Connecticut, $170,000 was spent in 2008 for a three-day inauguration celebration.

With extensive state budget cuts, causing many obstacles for the university, the committee avoided using any kind of state funds. Instead funding came from the Stony Brook Foundation, a private, non-profit charity that benefits the university. Additional funding came from individual departments.

“It is a good investment,” Meyer explained, “Creates a sense of good will for the year that follows.”

Of the 40 events, 15 had already been planned and were enhanced for the inauguration. By doing this, as well as combining the convocation address into the inauguration ceremony, the committee was able to save money.

“We were capitalizing on something,” Meyer said. “Everything we did we scrutinized and examined. It’s a different time from 15 years ago.”