Renowned Former Math Chair Jim Simons Gifts $25 Million to Stony Brook, the Largest Single Cash Donation in SUNY History

STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Jim Simons, a world-renowned mathematician, announced a $25 million donation to the University from the Simons Foundation -- the largest single cash gift in its history and, the largest single cash gift ever given to any SUNY institution.

"Marilyn and I have a relationship with Stony Brook University which stretches back to 1968, when I arrived to chair the Department of Mathematics," Simons said." Among the University's strongest areas are Mathematics and Physics, and it is on these that our gift will be focused.” Dr. Simons was largely responsible for shaping the reputation of the Department as one of the best of its kind in the nation; the graduate Math program was ranked 26th in the US News & World Report ratings released last month.

"Jim Simons has been a driving force in Stony Brook's success for many decades," said Richard L. Gelfond, Chair of the Stony Brook Foundation Board. "His passion and commitment are infectious. His extraordinarily generous gift will help continue the climb of Stony Brook in the ranks of the elite institutions of the world."

” Dr. Simons' generosity, support and vision have for years been a contributing factor to the success of Stony Brook University and the SUNY System," said SUNY Chancellor John R. Ryan. Last month, Dr. Simons announced a $13 million contribution to support research at Brookhaven National Laboratory, which is co-managed by Stony Brook.

Earlier in his career, Dr. Simmons was a cryptanalyst at the Institute of Defense Analyses in Princeton, and also taught Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University . He holds a B.S. in Mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of California at Berkeley . Currently, the President of Renaissance Technologies, a private investment firm located in East Setauket , N.Y., he has undertaken numerous philanthropic causes related to Math, Science and Autism.

Dr. Simons is the founder and Chairman of Math for America , a nonprofit organization with a mission to significantly improve Math education in our nation's public schools. He serves as Trustee of Brookhaven National Laboratory, The Institute for Advanced Study, The Rockefeller University, and the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley . He is also a member of the Board of the MIT Corporation and Chair Emeritus of the Stony Brook Foundation Board.

The Simons gift comes as Stony Brook is conducting its $300 million capital campaign, the first in the University's history. The gift increases the total raised so far to $165 million.