University's endowment remains far below the average of its Association of American Universities peers. Student government Housed in the Student Activity Center, the Undergraduate Student Government (USG) is the governing body representing the undergraduate students of the university. The main functions of USG involve regulation, funding, and recognizing official clubs and organizations of the university. Undergraduate students are obligated to pay a Student Activity Fee per semester which is then administered by the Undergraduate Student Government. USG manages the yearly Homecoming events, Roth Pond Regatta and the traditional end-of-the year Brookfest concert and a series of concerts and events branded as "Stony Brook Concerts" that occur throughout the academic year while also directly funding undergraduate organizations, clubs, and other student services. USG at Stony Brook has a long history going back to the founding of the Student Polity Association (Polity) in 1959. After the controversial de-certification of Polity by the administration in 2002, USG was founded in 2003. Like USG, the Graduate Student Organization (GSO) is the governing body representing the graduate students of the university. The GSO advocates for graduate student interests to senior university administration, and is part of shared governance at the university. Graduate students pay a per-semester activity fee which is used to fund events and programs for the Graduate community. The GSO provides services for graduate students including funding for conferences, seminars, speaker events, travel to Brookhaven and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, funding for social events, departmental organizations, and student clubs. The GSO hosts social events, professional development programming, and free legal and tax clinics. Traditional events hosted by the GSO include graduate student orientation, Three Minute Thesis, an annual speaker event, and national conferences. The GSO co-manages the University Cafe. GSO executive board members partake in national advocacy, and work with organizations such as the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students (NAGPS) on advocating for higher education policy issues. Academics Stony Brook was one of ten national universities awarded a National Science Foundation recognition award in 1998 for their integration of research and education. Between 2005 & 2007, two Nobel Prizes were awarded to professors for their work conducted at Stony Brook. The university has an annual $4.65 billion economic impact on the region. Stony Brook co-manages Brookhaven National Laboratory through Brookhaven Science Associates, a 50-50 partnership with Battelle Memorial Institute. Stony Brook is also one of two public schools in New York to have