Building a Legacy: How the Praeger-Henstridge Awards Will Transform Mathematical Sciences in Australia
In this insightful interview, Cheryl Praeger and John Henstridge share their inspiring journey of giving back to the mathematical and statistical communities. From their personal experiences as trailblazers in their fields to their values that shaped their philanthropic vision, they reveal the motivations behind establishing the Praeger-Henstridge Fund.
Through this generous gift, we have launched the Praeger-Henstridge Awards and prizes, a new initiative to strengthen participation in the mathematical sciences in Australia. Delivered annually starting in 2025, these awards are a collaborative effort between the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI), the Australian Mathematical Society (AustMS), and the Statistical Society of Australia (SSA). The awards are designed to leave a legacy, promoting visibility and encouraging future generations to engage with the mathematical sciences.
In this insightful interview, Cheryl and John share the motivations behind their philanthropy, their hopes for the awards’ long-term impact, and the personal stories that shaped their journey. They discuss the transformative role of mathematics and statistics in society and the importance of encouraging future generations to pursue careers in these disciplines. Cheryl’s unwavering commitment to supporting women in mathematics and John’s dedication to promoting the societal benefits of statistics come together in a shared mission to create lasting impact
Through this interview, discover their hopes for the Fund’s influence, the value of perpetual awards in nurturing talent, and their heartfelt advice to others considering supporting the AMSI Foundation.
This conversation serves as a testament to the power of philanthropy to shape futures, elevate communities, and promote the visibility of the mathematical sciences in Australia.
Why is it important to you to give to the mathematics and statistics communities?
Mathematics in its various forms has been an integral part of our lives since our undergraduate days. We have benefitted from being part of the mathematical and statistical communities through education, professional colleagues and many friends, and felt we wanted to give back to society which had supported our career pathways. We also recognise the importance of the mathematical sciences to wider society.
How would you describe the Praeger-Henstridge Fund and its mission to other potential donors?
The mathematical sciences are important to our society in numerous ways, underpinning all the sciences and providing trained logical thinkers. We wished to support the mathematical sciences in Australia, and the AMSI Foundation in conjunction with AustMS and SSA, provided an effective way of doing this.
We suggest that other people who feel similarly to us might consider donating to the AMSI Foundation. The Foundation provides a tax effective way of contributing to mathematics in Australia – that has allowed us to contribute more than otherwise we could have done.
What is your vision for the impact of the perpetual awards and prizes on mathematics and statistics disciplines in Australia?
Our gift is intended to have an ongoing effect to encourage and facilitate women’s and younger persons’ participation in mathematics and statistics. However, a larger aim is to promote the mathematical sciences in Australia in general.
Cheryl had experience of something similar to this around 15 years ago.
She had funds from several awards (WA Scientist of the Year; national AAUT citation for excellence in research supervision; UWA excellence in teaching award) available in a UWA research account.
At the same time, from her experience on the College of Experts of the Australian Research Council, she knew that some universities had internal research awards for young researchers, and that such awards were valuable to strengthen the track records of these young scientists; but she rarely saw such awards in maths and there were none available for young research mathematicians at UWA.
In addition, as part of her Australian Research Council Federation Fellowship her research group had been established as the Centre for the Mathematics of Symmetry and Computation (CMSC), and she was searching for a strategy whereby the research efforts of young researchers in the CMSC could be enriched by visiting early-to-mid career researchers, and at the same time those visiting researchers could have their research track records strengthened.
The upshot was establishment of a perpetual fund (using the funds from her awards) to provide an annual Cheryl Praeger Visiting Fellowship for someone within 15 years of obtaining their PhD who would spend several weeks working with members of the CMSC. Over the years many mathematicians have visited the CMSC to lecture and collaborate.
We hoped that this model for our current donation would be successful in having national impact. We realise that the UK and the US have a longer successful record of philanthropy and support for education, science, young people, etc. In Australia this type of giving seemed to be confined to rich entrepreneurs in the resources or media sectors. The possibility of our making a similar contribution on a smaller scale was for us an unexpected opportunity.
How broad would you like to see the impact of the Fund, awards, and prizes? e.g. social, economic, cultural, and/or impact on productivity and global competitiveness?
The Fund is designed to encourage participation in mathematics and statistics and to encourage the use of mathematics and statistics in the wider community.
Visibility counts. We often hear the rubric: “you can’t be what you can’t see”. This seems true both regarding mathematics within society as well as for women within the mathematics community. Currently mathematics is not as visible as it should be and this leads to young people not realising that careers in mathematics exist, or not realising how diverse they are. Hence, we hope that the Fund and its awards will increase the visibility of the mathematical sciences in Australia.
Cheryl – please tell us about your commitment to actively support and champion the involvement of women in mathematics, and why these awards are critical to providing a platform to recognise young women in mathematics?
Cheryl had been the only girl in her mathematics classes from years 2-4 at the University of Queensland, and she was only the second woman to become professor of mathematics at an Australian university (the University of Western Australia). She is very conscious of the challenges facing women in mathematics, so she wants to support and celebrate women’s contribution to mathematics.
John – please tell us about your commitment to actively support and promote the benefit of statistics to the community and encouraging students to choose a career in statistics?
After eight years working in academia, John chose a consulting job in industry over a tenured lectureship at a university. With several colleagues in the company Siromath, John wanted to demonstrate that maths and stats could have a positive impact on society, including the economy. In 1988 John set up his own company, Data Analysis Australia. In Western Australia he mentored over a number of years the Young Statisticians Workshops of the SSA, events that encouraged young people to consider careers in statistics. Through all this John has been aware that most statisticians work outside of academic mathematical or statistical departments, and he hopes that the donation will have impact across many sectors.
What are your hopes for the next generations of Australian statisticians and mathematicians?
We hope that young people will see that they may have a career in mathematics or statistics, either in developing new ideas or in applying it to real world problems.
Do you have any advice for the AMSI Foundation on how it might inspire others to join you in your vision and donate to the Fund?
It has been important for us that the impact of our donation continues, so it is important that the fund be invested and cared for by the AMSI Foundation. Maintaining/growing the real value of the donation will ensure that the funds are available into the future to support initiatives to promote mathematics and statistics.
The expertise and the duties of the AMSI Foundation Board to act as custodians of the funds helps build trust that the funds will be carefully looked after.
We hope that our example and the careful custodianship of the AMSI Foundation Funds by the AMSI Foundation Board might encourage others to consider similar contributions for initiatives they care about to support Mathematics in Australia.
