Lyle Manly Spencer (May 10, 1911 – August 21, 1968) was an American philanthropist. In 1938, he was a 27-year-old graduate student in sociology at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

when he founded

Science Research Associates Science Research Associates (SRA), founded by Lyle Spencer in 1938, was a Chicago-based publisher of educational materials and schoolroom reading comprehension products. The company was acquired by McGraw-Hill Education in the early 2000s. Histo ...

(SRA), the educational publishing firm which provided the basis of his wealth and ultimately made possible the creation of

The Spencer Foundation The Spencer Foundation was established in 1962 by Lyle M. Spencer. This foundation makes grants to support research in areas of education that are widely construed. It is currently led by Na'ilah Suad Nasir. Founder Lyle M. Spencer was the fou ...

Early life and education

Spencer was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

to M. Lyle Spencer and Lois Hill. His parents divorced after 10 years of marriage. He spent much of his childhood in

Appleton, Wisconsin Appleton () is the county seat of Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States, with small portions extending into Calumet County, Wisconsin, Calumet and Winnebago County, Wisconsin, Winnebago counties. Located on the Fox River (Green Bay tributary ...

, where his father was an English professor at

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a Private college, private liberal arts college and Music school, conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second colle ...

. He received his undergraduate and master's degrees in sociology from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

in Seattle, where his father was president from 1927 to 1933; he then continued his graduate work in sociology at the

Career

The Spencer Foundation was established formally in 1962. That same year, Spencer, as President of SRA, testified before Congress and made explicit his belief in the reformative power of well-funded education research: "In my judgment, hard-minded, sensible investments in educational research can provide the most effective single method of strengthening our schools." Speaking to employees of his firm in 1961, Spencer noted that SRA was initially a nonprofit organization that "nearly went broke in the first year before we gave up that idea... We reorganized as a commercial firm in 1939 and have been going up ever since." Spencer's colleagues at SRA and his friends in higher education referred to him as a businessman who was always an educator, a man who was a researcher all his life. Charles Dollard, Spencer's friend and one of the original directors of the Spencer Foundation, noted, "Lyle had a passionate belief in education as the ''modus vivendi'' of a democratic society. He was particularly concerned both professionally and personally with the education of the young. He liked to say that it was quite as important where one went to kindergarten as where one went to college." While at SRA's helm, Spencer served as a trustee of three universities, was a director of what is now the United Negro College Fund, and sat on the visiting committees for education at Harvard University and the University of Chicago.

Sale of SRA

In 1964, SRA was purchased by IBM, but Spencer continued as the firm's chief executive and guiding spirit until his death in 1968. After the sale of SRA to

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

in 1964, Spencer realized the potential impact his now much-increased fortune could have on the course of educational research throughout the world. His personal memoranda, sketchy yet impassioned notes outlining his vision for the Foundation, reveal a concern for individual people and the individual learning process, a desire to support educational projects that lacked other sources of funding, and an interest in a grassroots approach to improving generally educational opportunities both here and abroad: "Improve learning process, including diffusion into developing countries;" "Maybe non-cognitive;" "Prejudiced against bricks and mortar;" "All support periods finite;" "Projects where other money not readily available at this point;" "Tend to bet on people even more than the project itself."

Death

On August 21, 1968, Lyle Spencer died of

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

at Passavant Hospital in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He was buried in

References

External links