The Claytor-Gilmer Fellowship
The AMS established the Claytor-Gilmer Fellowship to further excellence in mathematics research and to advance the participation and success of Black mathematicians in the research community. One award will be made for the 2026–2027 academic year in the amount of US$75,000. AMS membership also will be offered to the recipient for the duration of the fellowship.
In recognition of the historical contributions of Dr. William S. Claytor and Dr. Gloria Ford Gilmer, the fellowship seeks to encourage applications from mathematicians who are committed to advancing excellence in mathematics and who demonstrate a dedication to broadening participation and fostering a more inclusive mathematical community. The most likely awardee will be a midcareer scholar whose achievements demonstrate significant potential both for further contributions to mathematics and to advancing the participation and success of Black mathematicians.
Awardees may use the fellowship in any way that most effectively enables their research — for instance, for release time, participation in research programs, travel support, childcare, etc. The award is issued through the recipient's institution, but institutions may not charge costs of any kind to AMS fellowships, such as fringe benefit rate, indirect costs, or overhead.
Applications for the fellowship are currently closed. The AMS accepted applications for this fellowship for the 2026–2027 academic year on MathPrograms.org July 15-October 6, 2025.
Most Recent Fellowship: 2025
Cheikh Birahim Ndiaye, associate professor of mathematics at Howard University, has been awarded the fifth annual Claytor-Gilmer Fellowship. Ndiaye's research interests include Geometric Analysis, Calculus of Variations, Partial Differential Equations, Differential Geometry, Nonlinear Analysis.
Fellowship announcement as seen in the news release.
See previous winners
William Waldron Schieffelin Claytor, PhD
(1908-1967) was the first African American man to publish a research article in a peer-reviewed mathematics journal, with a paper on topology in the Annals of Mathematics. He was the third African American to earn a PhD in mathematics (University of Pennsylvania, 1933). He earned his undergraduate and master's degrees in mathematics at Howard University. After his PhD, he taught at West Virginia State College where one of his students was Katherine Johnson (of Hidden Figures fame). Dr. Claytor's passion for research was diminished by racist attitudes and incidents. This history is recounted in an AMS report. Dr. Claytor spent the majority of his career at Howard University where he also became department chair. He is recognized by the National Association of Mathematicians (NAM) in their annual Claytor-Woodard Lecture at the Joint Mathematics Meetings.
Gloria Ford Gilmer, PhD
(1928-2021) was the first African American woman to publish mathematics research articles in peer-reviewed journals, with papers on differential equations in the Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society and the Pacific Journal of Mathematics. Dr. Ford Gilmer earned her undergraduate degree from Morgan State University and taught at six different HBCUs after earning a master's degree in mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania. Later in life she earned a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Marquette University. She was the first Black woman on the board of governors of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) and also served as a research associate with the U.S. Department of Education. She was the second person and the first woman to give NAM's Cox-Talbot Lecture. Dr. Ford Gilmer was a leader in the field of ethnomathematics. In 2023 she became the first Black woman mathematician to have her archives added to the Library of Congress.
Background
In 2020, the AMS took new steps towards addressing racism and promoting full and equitable participation in mathematics education, research, and employment. As part of national outrage about systemic racism, the AMS participated in #ShutDownSTEM day, adopted the AMS Message of Support for and Solidarity with the Black Community, created the Task Force on Understanding and Documenting the Historical Role of the AMS in Racial Discrimination, and launched a new endowed fund for the fellowship and other activities. In consultation with various other professional organizations and individuals in the wider community, the AMS Council established and then named the Claytor-Gilmer Fellowship in early 2021. The Fellowship celebrates their achievements and seeks to inspire all mathematicians to contribute to a vibrant, diverse, and welcoming mathematical community.
Both Dr. William S. Claytor and Dr. Gloria Ford Gilmer are products of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Dr. Claytor and Dr. Ford Gilmer have compelling stories that align with an important intention of the fellowship: to redress the historical fact that Black men and women have not been adequately supported or recognized by the mathematics community.
Eligibility
Any mathematician currently holding a tenured, tenure-track, postdoctoral, or comparable (at the discretion of the selection committee) position at a U.S. institution is eligible to apply. In particular, there are no restrictions based on race, ethnicity, national origin, and gender, in accordance with non-discrimination laws. As indicated below, the applicant should demonstrate through their submitted materials how their research achievements and activities have advanced the participation, retention, and success of Black mathematicians and demonstrate their potential both for further contributions to mathematics and to advancing the participation and success of Black mathematicians. The AMS recognizes that there are many informal and underrecognized ways that an individual can advance participation, retention, and success in mathematics, including informal mentoring and acting as a role model, and commits to valuing these in the evaluation process.
Under normal circumstances, the fellowship cannot be deferred.
How to Apply
The application form requires the following information.
- Research Statement: a statement regarding the applicant's overall program of research, past and planned, that is meaningful to mathematicians who are not specialists. The statement should be no more than three pages, including bibliographical references.
- Research Plan: a detailed research plan for the fellowship period that is contextualized by the research statement. The plan should include a description of how the fellowship will support the applicant's success. It should be no more than one page.
- Key Professional Accomplishments: a list of up to ten publications and up to five other professional activities that demonstrate the applicant's contributions to the mathematics profession and, where applicable, to the advancing the participation and success of Black mathematicians. This list should be no more than one page.
- NSF-style Summary of Current and Pending Support: To create an NSF Current and Pending Support document, visit https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sciencv, log into your NSF account, follow the prompts in the walk-through form, select "Create new document," choose the "NSF Current and Pending (Other) Support" format, and download the PDF.
- NSF-style Biographical Sketch: To create the NSF-style biographical sketch, visit https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sciencv, log into your NSF account, follow the prompts in the walk-through form, select "Create new document," choose the "NSF Biographical Sketch" format, and download the PDF.
- References: a list of three reference writers who can address the applicant's accomplishments and potential, both to research mathematics and to advancing the participation and success of Black mathematicians in keeping with the fellowship’s purpose. Use the email links on the coversheet to send a password and instructions directly to the writers.
- Institutional Verification: Verification is required from an administrator at your institution (preferably a representative in your office of sponsored programs or equivalent) who may coordinate the administration of your award if your application is successful.
Applications for this fellowship for the 2026–2027 academic were collected via MathPrograms.org July 15-October 6, 2025 (11:59 p.m. EDT). Reference letters and institutional Verifications were also accepted through October 6, 2025 (11:59 p.m. EDT).
Photo of William S. Claytor courtesy of the Raymond Louis Wilder Papers, Archives of American Mathematics, e_math_02076, The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Photo of Gloria Ford Gilmer courtesy of the Gilmer family.