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Forming a SIGMAA

Any group of MAA members that share a common mathematical interest and wish to establish a new SIGMAA should contact the chair of the MAA Committee on SIGMAAs to indicate their intent, discuss the procedure, and address any preliminary questions.

The current chair of the Committee on SIGMAAs is:

Dr. Raina Robeva - RainaRobeva@rmc.edu

Groups are expected to work with the Committee on developing applications. Completed applications must be approved by the Committee, which will formally submit applications to the MAA Board of Directors for consideration and final approval.

Items Required for Forming a SIGMAA

Groups proposing to form a SIGMAA will be required to submit to the Committee the following items:

1. Charter

The charter of a SIGMAA serves as the official defining document of the group, and therefore serves a number of purposes. The charter must indicate clearly the common mathematical interest shared by the group of MAA members that founded the SIGMAA and also describe the goals, objectives, and activities of the organization. This document must also state that the SIGMAA will adhere to certain conditions that were required by the MAA when the SIGMAAs program was initiated as well as further conditions determined as the program has grown. These conditions involve membership requirements, organizational structure, financial arrangements, and other conditions related to SIGMAA operations.

As with any organization, from time to time a SIGMAA must anticipate some changes with respect to some of its operations (e.g., modification of officer duties, dues structure, or budgetary requirements). Therefore, a SIGMAA charter must be considered a living document that will need to be changed occasionally either on the initiative of the SIGMAA or the MAA.

Please use the SIGMAA charter template as the basis for your charter.  Contact us at communities@maa.org with questions.

For specific ideas on organization and wording, groups wishing to propose a new SIGMAA may want to examine the charters of existing SIGMAAs, especially some of the more recently approved ones, which can be accessed from the individual SIGMAA webpages.

2. List of Prospective Charter SIGMAA Members

A list of prospective charter members must be submitted with a charter for a new SIGMAA. A spreadsheet is acceptable for this submission. Since MAA membership is required of all SIGMAA members, the individuals listed must all be MAA members.

Sometimes individuals who are not MAA members may express an interest in joining the MAA if a new SIGMAA, in which they share an interest, should become active. In such a case, a supplemental list of these individuals may be appended to the list of charter members in order to illustrate the potential of the proposed SIGMAA to attract new MAA members. However, these individuals will not be counted among the "official" charter members.

3. List of Initial SIGMAA Officers

A list of individuals who have agreed to serve as SIGMAA officers during the inaugural period of the SIGMAA must accompany the SIGMAA charter submitted by a group of MAA members wishing to form a new SIGMAA. These individuals must meet the criteria for membership in the SIGMAA, and their names should appear on the list of charter SIGMAA members accompanying the charter.

Since the terms for initial SIGMAA officers may differ from the normal terms specified in the charter, this list should be supplemented with a brief description of how the initial officers' terms will be structured.