625 N MICHIGAN AVE # 401 CHICAGO, IL 60611 Get Directions
625 N MICHIGAN AVE # 401 CHICAGO, IL 60611 Get Directions
The Spencer Foundation was established in 1962 by Lyle M. Spencer. The Foundation received its major endowment upon Spencer's death in 1968 and began formal grant making in 1971. Since that time, the Foundation has made grants totaling approximately $250 million. The Foundation is intended, by Spencer's direction, to investigate ways in which education, broadly conceived, can be improved around the world. From the first, the Foundation has been dedicated to the belief that research is necessary to the improvement in education. The Foundation is thus committed to supporting high-quality investigation of education through its research programs and to strengthening and renewing the educational research community through its fellowship and training programs and related activities.
The Spencer Foundation remains committed to Lyle Spencer's original mandate, and it is hard to imagine a time when that will change. But even as we remain constant in purpose, we must, like any vital enterprise, from time to time renew our approach and our methods. We have undertaken such a process of renewal at Spencer. A description of that process can be found in two documents: President Michael McPherson's essay from the 2003-2004 Annual Report presents some reasons for looking at the Foundation's work in a somewhat new way, and the second document puts forward a list of "areas of inquiry" that the Foundation aims to promote through its grant making programs.
© Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. 2025. All rights reserved.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.