Stanford University operates SLAC under a contract from the U. S. Department of Energy. SLAC’s scientific and intellectual environment is significantly enriched and strengthened by its close affiliation with Stanford University through the SLAC faculty. The two departments of the SLAC faculty, Photon Science and Particle Physics and Astrophysics, include about 50 faculty members, many of whom are jointly appointed with departments across four of Stanford’s Schools on the main campus. SLAC faculty train and mentor graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who contribute to the scientific programs and the development of new instrumentation and methodology.
Along with colleagues from main campus departments, many SLAC faculty and scientific staff are members of the KIPAC, PULSE and SIMES research institutes. These institutes are jointly governed through SLAC and Stanford's Vice President for Research. The research institutes facilitate and enable basic scientific discovery and its application to the mission needs of the Department of Energy.
Oversight of SLAC operations is provided by Stanford's Vice President for SLAC, advised by the SLAC Board of Overseers. The Board's role is to provide guidance, oversight, direction, and advice to the President of Stanford University and SLAC management with respect to matters that include scientific and technical issues, long-range objectives, laboratory operations, budget and facility plans, and the relationship with the U. S. Department of Energy.