The Benefits of Academic Sponsorship

• Committee of Academic Sponsors
• Summer Graduate Schools
• Visits by SLMath Members
• Additional Benefits
• How to Become an Academic Sponsor

SLMath academic sponsors provide an interface between SLMath and the mathematical community. The Academic Sponsors participate in Institute governance and take part (at SLMath's expense) in a general meeting with the other sponsors and trustees each year for this purpose. SLMath helps support visits by members to sponsoring institutions. Sponsors are offered some financial backing of conferences at sponsoring institutions.

Perhaps most important: An Academic Sponsor can send up to 4* graduate students to SLMath Summer Graduate Schools each year at SLMath's expense.

In addition to the original academic sponsorship ("Full-level") two more levels ("Mid-level" and "Entry-level") were introduced to broaden the community of sponsoring institutions and to allow small and medium sized institutions to participate in SLMath's activities and governance. Eligibility to a certain level depends on the size of the institution's graduate program and it affects the number of students that can be sent to the SLMath summer schools:

Fee Structure (AY 2023-24)

* While the size of your graduate program determines whether your institution is eligible to Mid- or Entry-level sponsorship you may choose to pay the Full-level dues as this allows you to send 2 + 2 graduate students to SLMath Summer Schools. Learn more about Summer Graduate Schools below.

If you have additional questions, please contact info@slmath.org.

Committee of Academic Sponsors

This committee consists of a representative from each Sponsoring Institution. The committee meets at SLMath each spring; travel expenses and hotel reimbursement are provided by SLMath.

The rate for travel reimbursement is up to US$600 (depending of point of origin) for participants from US and Canadian universities, and up to US$700 for participants from foreign sponsoring institutions.

The Sponsors hear reports on the Institute’s current scientific programs and provide advice to SLMath on future plans and initiatives. There are often discussions of issues facing the broader mathematical community as well. This meeting is typically held just before the annual March meeting of the SLMath Board of Trustees, and the Sponsors join with the Trustees for a banquet and socializing.

We are continually working with the Committee of Academic Sponsors to explore new ways that SLMath can serve the community, and we expect this to evolve accordingly in the future.

Summer Graduate Schools

Every summer, SLMath organizes several Summer Graduate Schools (usually two weeks each), some of which are held at SLMath in Berkeley, and others at partner institutions around the U.S. and worldwide. Attending one of these schools can be a very motivating and exciting experience for a student; participants have often said that it was the first experience where they felt like real mathematicians, interacting with other students and mathematicians in their field. See above for the number of students each sponsor can send to these schools.

SLMath covers the travel and local expenses of these students. The rate for travel reimbursement is up to $600 for students from US and Canadian universities, and up to $700 for students from other sponsoring institutions.

All institutions can nominate additional students to attend a workshop if they pay the attendance fee of $1,800 per student and workshop (2023 rate, subject to change). Additional students will only be considered after the end of the open enrollment period and if the workshop has not reached capacity by that time.

For details on nominations rules and admission policies, see below.

Summer Graduate Schools Quota:

For full-level academic sponsors, SLMath provides support for two students per summer; a third will be supported if at least one nominee is a woman or is a U.S. citizen/Permanent Resident from a group that is underrepresented in the mathematical sciences (URM). SLMath will support four students from a full-level academic sponsor if at least one nominee is woman and at least one other nominee is a URM.

For mid-level academic sponsors, SLMath provides support for one student per summer and a second if at least one of them is woman or is a US citizen/US Permanent Resident from a group that is underrepresented in the mathematical sciences (URM). SLMath will support three students from a mid-level academic sponsor if at least one nominee is woman and at least one other nominee is a URM.

For entry-level academic sponsors and other U.S. institutions, SLMath provides support for one student per summer. SLMath will provide support for two students to entry-level academic sponsors if one student is woman and the other is a US citizen/US Permanent Resident from a group that is underrepresented in the mathematical sciences (URM).

SLMath has a strong commitment to broadening participation in the mathematical sciences. Groups underrepresented in the field per National Science Foundation (NSF) guidelines include women, persons with disabilities, and three racial and ethnic groups: Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, and American Indians or Alaska Natives (Native Americans).

Visits by SLMath Members

Academic Sponsors are encouraged to invite SLMath members to visit and give a colloquium or seminar talk at the Sponsors’ institutions. SLMath provides partial support for the member’s visit (at present, up to $250).

Additional Benefits

• From time to time, SLMath holds events that are of general interest to the mathematical community. Academic Sponsors are invited to send representatives, funded by SLMath.
  
• SLMath will provide partial travel funding (up to a maximum of $750) for postdoc or ladder faculty members of Academic Sponsor Institutions to attend workshops at the Banff International Research Station (BIRS) and Casa Matemática Oaxaca (CMO). Funding is limited to US Citizens or Permanent Residents who are recommended by the organizer of the workshop. Please contact the SLMath Program Manager for further restrictions, at coord@slmath.org.
  
• Academic Sponsors receive free subscriptions to the MSRI Book Series.

How to Become an Academic Sponsor of SLMath

The exchange of ideas resulting from sponsorship benefits the Academic Sponsors, benefits SLMath, and benefits the entire mathematical community. In principle, an Academic Sponsor is an academic department in the mathematical sciences; however, it may be any organization with interest in research in the mathematical sciences.

For the academic year 2023-24, the cost of Full-level Academic Sponsorship is $5,158 USD/year. (For Mid and Entry-Level fees, please refer to the table at the top of this page.) This fee is modest compared to the benefits of sponsorship and compared to our annual operating budget. However, the fund generated by sponsors' fees is critical in preserving ownership of SLMath by the mathematical community and in helping the Institute to maintain flexibility, stability, and independence. The fee is increased annually by the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Academic Sponsors are elected by SLMath's Steering Committee.

Interested organizations should contact the Director of SLMath by email, at director@slmath.org.

Upon acceptance by the Chair of the Board of Trustees and the Director of SLMath, the organization becomes an academic sponsor and will be invoiced for that year’s dues. Further questions and inquiries are welcome, and we will be happy to send additional material on current and forthcoming programs.