About Spencer Fifty

For us at Spencer, it is a momentous occasion. We are incredibly proud of the foundation’s commitment to supporting scholarship in education, of the legacy of prolific scholars and consequential lines of research that we have funded, and of our abiding and longstanding commitment to research and research training as a key aspect of creating more expansive educational and learning opportunities.

We hope you will join us in Chicago in June as we celebrate 50 years of learning together; reconnect with friends and colleagues; and recommit to 50 more years of investing in transformative research that cultivates learning and transforms lives.

A message from
the President

The Spencer 50th anniversary is a milestone occasion to look back at the important scholarship we’ve funded and to celebrate our work; certainly we have much to be proud of. And yet, like any 50th birthday (I have recently celebrated one myself!), it is also a sobering occasion, and one that calls for attention to the critical work that lies ahead—in education research, in our education systems, and in our world.

To be sure, this is a unique and consequential time in education: the vast and devasting disruption to education systems in the wake of an international public health crisis; the ever deepening inequalities in our society that have left families and communities without even basic necessities; the rampant systemic racism and anti-blackness in the U.S. and globally, and in our policing and carceral systems; the rise of polarizing racial discourse; the extreme resource differentials in educational access and the hard truth that our systems are built in ways that shortchange us as societies. Our systems leave the potential contributions and innovations of too many young people and their communities untapped, leaving us all ill-prepared to adapt to impending large-scale societal shifts, from changing climates to changing economic systems. Racial inequality is perhaps the greatest risk and challenge to education, and to the future of our nation, right now. It is a time that demands our collective action in the service of equity and justice; in the service of the public and social good; and in the service of systems that honor our collective humanity.

Thus, in honor of the Spencer 50th anniversary, we have launched our Racial Equity Initiative, which involves commissioning new research; collaborating with other foundations on shared goals to increase impact; and convening scholars and other stakeholders—most recently through our Indigenous Education Initiative.

As we engage in these activities, we are particularly interested in work that not only aims to understand the reproduction and deepening of educational inequality, but also work that seeks to disrupt racial inequality in education. We believe that this is a time to stretch our collective imagination, to illuminate and build on the significant strengths in communities and in families, and to expand our notions of what’s possible in order to remake and reimagine new forms of equitable education for just and thriving democracies.

To this end, our celebratory gala will be preceded by a day-long conference, Research for Racial Equity in Education, and it will include several panels and a keynote talk focused on the ways research can support greater racial equity in schools and systems of schooling.

Of course, even as we commemorate the 50th anniversary by recommitting to our work in the service of equitable education systems, there will also be time for celebration, for cultivating our collective joy and inspiration as a field, and opportunities for colleagueship and collective learning.

But for now, we hope that you and your loved ones are staying well, and we invite you to join us in the critical work of using our research to reimagine equitable education, and to move towards a world where all children have access to robust learning that fosters joy, purpose, and a meaningful life. I believe that with each of us walking in our purpose and doing our most ambitious work, we can build a new future together.

Na’ilah Nasir
Spencer Foundation President