Clayton Spencer

Last updated

In this capacity she advocated for the merger of Harvard College and former women's college, Radcliffe College. Spencer and the executive board of the college merged the two institutions and founded the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. She became the executive dean of the newly founded institute and frequently lectured at Harvard's Graduate School of Education.

While at Harvard, Spencer ended the Early Action Program, initiated the Task Force on the Arts along with Harvard president Drew Faust, and increased financial aid dramatically. Already widely considered as one of the most influential figures at Harvard, in 2005 she was appointed vice president for policy at Harvard University, serving until her appointment as president of Bates College in 2012. [11] [12]

Bates College

Tenure

Spencer was inaugurated on the historical quad in July 2012. View from Hathorn Hall.jpg
Spencer was inaugurated on the historical quad in July 2012.

On October 26, 2012, Spencer was installed as the eighth and second female President of Bates College, in Lewiston, Maine. [13] Her inauguration speech, "Questions worth asking" drew 2,500 students, faculty, alumni, and members of the American collegiate educational system to Merrill Gymnasium. [14] In her address, Spencer said, "At Bates, we claim this union of excellence and opportunity as a core element of our identity, and we need to continue to build on this deep aspect of who we are. As a practical matter, this means redoubling our efforts to recruit students from a wide range of backgrounds, and it means maintaining an unwavering commitment to financial aid." [15]

Spencer assumed the presidency after the first female and 7th president of college–Elaine Tuttle Hansen–stepped down after a nine-year tenure to take a leadership position at Johns Hopkins University. [4]

Endowment and fundraising

Spencer assumed an endowment that was heavily impacted by the 2007 to 2008 financial crisis and market volatility, thus reporting negative returns in the first two years. During her first year as president, 2012, Spencer raised $12.2 million in donations. [16] At the conclusion of the second semester of the 2012/13 academic year, the Bates College Board of Trustees announced a totaled pool donation of $11.5 million to start the Catalyst Fund. Spencer would go on to expand the financial aid program by expending more of the college's endowment and indirect funding. [17] In the 2013 fiscal year, the college reported Spencer's fundraising totaled $12 million. [18] In 2014, Spencer introduced the option to donate capitalized securities, and saw a total of $16 million donated in the completed fiscal year. [19]

In May 2015, Spencer's fundraising prompted Moody's Investors Service to upgrade the college's $24 million revenue bonds to an A1 rating. [20] During the capital cycle of 2015, Spencer raised $21.6 million, $5.6 million more than the year before. On March 31, 2015, Spencer raised $250,000, the most ever secured in 24 hours by the college. [21]

With the start of the 2016 academic year, she appointed committees to expand the college's curriculum, after a donation of $19 million was given to fund new areas of study and support incoming professors in the computer sciences. [22] In the 2016 fiscal year, Spencer's team in the Office of College Advancement raised $28.2 million, which broke the 2006 record and marked the third year the college's fundraising has increased by 30 percent annually. [23]

In May 2017, she launched the "Bates+You" fundraising campaign–the largest ever undertaken by the college–totaling $300 million to fund facilities, financial aid, the operational fund, and the endowment. The campaign was met with a $50 million donation from Michael Bonney, and has reached $160 million toward its total goal as of May 2017. [24]

Public policy and outreach

At the 2014 White House Summit on College Opportunity, Spencer joined other U.S. higher education executives to meet with President Obama. She used the event to highlight the college's financial aid program, and recent donations, as well as calling for educational and financial reform. [25] A year later in her comments on a proposed college ranking system was profiled in an article by the Wall Street Journal. [26]

Spencer was profiled by Inside Higher Education in February 2016, where she stressed the college's established Digital and Computational Studies program and the importance of computer science in a liberal arts education. [27] The announcement of the new area of study was profiled by Maine Public Broadcasting Network earlier that month. [27]

In April 2016, she was interviewed by Time magazine, along with dean of admission and financial aid, Leigh Weisenburger. The two outlined college admissions in the coming academic years. [28] In June 2016, Spencer was interviewed on New England Cable News' CEO Corner, where she outlined the college's history and the importance of a liberal arts education in a knowledge-based economy. [29] On November 21, 2016, Spencer signed along with 250 other university presidents, a statement to the U.S. Congress and other elected officials to continue the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program at universities. [30] The statement was prompted after President Donald Trump asserted that his administration would terminate the programSpencer noted the DACA as "both a moral imperative and a national necessity." [31]

In December 2017, she criticized the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 for "constrict[ing] access to education", and undermining "the engine of innovation that has driven the national economy since the end of World War II." [32]

Student life

Bates students had a Halloween tradition of participating in a late-night social event where seniors hosted themed parties in their off-campus houses which included underclassman touring the different houses and sampling various drinks. [33] [34] Spencer banned the tradition in 2014, citing "hundreds of noise complaints", student safety, underage drinking, multiple instances of destruction of property, student arrests, and student-police violence". [35] [36] Her choice to do so was widely criticized by student newspapers in the NESCAC. [37] [38] Spencer went on to announce that more funding was to be allocated for late-night programming stating, "part of the job is figuring out what the alternatives are." [39] [40]

In March 2015, the Bates College Student Government passed a nearly unanimous vote-of-no-confidence against Spencer and her Vice-President of Student Affairs, Joshua McIntosh. [41] The vote was in response to her decision to suspend and eventually terminate an employment contract with a member of the college's staff. Students representatives charged the administration with violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. [41] Spencer noted the student's withdrawal of confidence and stated, "recent events confirm what I know to be true — that students care deeply about this college, as do faculty and staff on campus, and alumni of every generation. Students also rightly want and expect to be included in the discussions and decisions that shape their own experience and the way the college moves forward." [42]

On November 7, 2016, a day before the 2016 U.S. presidential election, a Bates student discovered that Lewiston townspeople were distributing flyers at the college which asserted that in order to vote in the upcoming election, students were required to change their driver's license to feature a Lewiston residency and re-register any vehicles students had in the city. [43] Under 2016-17 Maine State law, this was not required, which lead Spencer to label the situation as "a deliberate attempt at voter suppression". [44] The Governor of Maine, Paul LePage asserted the flyer's validity stating "Democrats for decades have encouraged college students from out of state to vote in Maine, even though there is no way to determine whether these college students also voted in their home states." [45] Spencer's comments were reiterated and supported by the Maine Democratic Party leader, Phil Bartlett, and Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap. [46]

Other work

In April 2015, Spencer was appointed to the American Council on Education, "the nation's largest and most influential advocacy organization representing colleges and universities." [47] Her appointment was commented on by the council's president saying: "[Spencer] has been a part of almost every major discussion involving higher education policy over the last 20 years, her work on Capitol Hill, at Harvard and now at Bates gives her a unique and important perspective — particularly during this time of dynamic change in higher education. We are extremely pleased to have Clayton join the board and greatly appreciate her commitment to helping guide the work of ACE." [47] Her term on the board is set to expire in 2018.

Spencer has been elected numerous boards and committees, most notably Williams College and Phillips Exeter Academy. [48] [49]

Personal life

Spencer resides in Lewiston, Maine. Spencer was married to United States Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, with whom she has two children, William and Ava Carter.

Awards and honors

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colby College</span> Private college in Waterville, Maine, US

Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. Founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, it was renamed Waterville College in 1821. The donations of Christian philanthropist Gardner Colby saw the institution renamed again to Colby University before settling on its current title, reflecting its liberal arts college curriculum, in 1899. Approximately 2,000 students from more than 60 countries are enrolled annually. The college offers 54 major fields of study and 30 minors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowdoin College</span> Private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine, US

Bowdoin College is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 35 majors and 40 minors, as well as several joint engineering programs with Columbia, Caltech, Dartmouth College, and the University of Maine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New England Small College Athletic Conference</span> American collegiate athletic conference

The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III comprising sports teams from eleven highly selective liberal arts institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The eleven institutions are Amherst College, Bates College, Bowdoin College, Colby College, Connecticut College, Hamilton College, Middlebury College, Tufts University, Trinity College, Wesleyan University, and Williams College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bates College</span> Private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine, U.S.

Bates College is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals 813 acres (329 ha). It maintains 600 acres (240 ha) of nature preserve known as the "Bates-Morse Mountain" near Campbell Island and a coastal center on Atkins Bay.

The Colby-Bates-Bowdoin Consortium (CBB) is an athletic conference and academic consortium between three private liberal arts colleges in the U.S. State of Maine. The group consists of Colby College in Waterville, Bates College in Lewiston, and Bowdoin College in Brunswick. In allusion to the Big Three of the Ivy League, Colby, Bates, and Bowdoin, are collectively known the "Maine Big Three", a play on words with the words "Maine" and "main". The school names are ordered by their geographical organization in Maine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Southern Maine</span> Public university in Portland, Gorham and Lewiston, Maine, U.S.

The University of Southern Maine (USM) is a public university with campuses in Portland, Gorham and Lewiston in the U.S. state of Maine. It is the southernmost of the University of Maine System. It was founded as two separate state universities, Gorham Normal School and Portland University. The two universities, later known as Gorham State College and the University of Maine at Portland, were combined in 1970 to help streamline the public university system in Maine and eventually expanded by adding the Lewiston campus in 1988.

Elaine Tuttle Hansen is an American academic administrator, scholar and university professor who served as the executive director of the Center for Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University from 2011 to 2018 and the 8th President of Bates College from 2002 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Bates IV</span> American industrialist and philanthropist (1808–1878)

Benjamin Edward Bates IV was an American rail industrialist, textile tycoon and philanthropist. He was the wealthiest person in Maine from 1850 to 1878.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Colby Chase</span>

George Colby Chase was an American intellectual and professor of English who served as the second President of Bates College succeeding its founder, Oren Burbank Cheney, from March 1894 to November 1919.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clifton Daggett Gray</span>

Clifton Daggett Gray was an American minister who served as the third President of Bates College from March 1920 to November 1944.

Charles Franklin Phillips was an American economist who served as the fourth President of Bates College from March 1944 to November 1967. Previous to his assumption of the Bates presidency, he was the deputy administrator of the U.S. Office of Price Administration from March 1937 to July 1941.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lane Hall</span>

Lane Hall is a later 20th-century neoclassical building serving as the principal workplace and headquarters of the central administration of Bates College, located at 2 Andrews Road in Lewiston, Maine. It has been the principle administrative headquarters of every Bates president since Thomas Hedley Reynolds in 1964. Lane Hall was named after George Lane Jr., who served as treasurer of the college and secretary of the corporation.

Selma Botman is an American academic. Her post at the University of Maine System (UMS) Chancellor's Office focused on expanding the systems international education programs, recruiting foreign students, and coordinating overseas faculty exchanges.

Theodora June Kalikow is an American academic, university president, author, and women's rights advocate. Holder of a master's degree and PhD in philosophy, she taught at Southeastern Massachusetts University for 17 years before becoming Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Northern Colorado in 1984. From 1984 to 1987 she was Dean of Plymouth State College in New Hampshire. She then served as 13th President of the University of Maine at Farmington from 1994 to 2012, and Interim President of the University of Southern Maine from 2012 to 2014. She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judith Magyar Isaacson</span>

Judith Magyar Isaacson was a Hungarian-American educator, university administrator, speaker, and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Bates College</span>

The history of Bates College began shortly before Bates College's founding on March 16, 1855, in Lewiston, Maine. The college was founded by Oren Burbank Cheney and Benjamin Bates. Originating as a Free Will Baptist institution, it has since secularized and established a liberal arts curriculum. After the mysterious 1853 burning of Parsonsfield Seminary, Cheney wanted to create another seminary in a more central part of Maine: Lewiston, a then-booming industrial economy. He met with religious and political leaders in Topsham, to discuss the formation of such a school, recruiting much of the college's first trustees, most notably Ebenezer Knowlton. After a well-received speech by Cheney, the group successfully petitioned the Maine State Legislature to establish the Maine State Seminary. At its founding it was the first coeducational college in New England. Soon after it was established, donors stepped forward to finance the seminary, developing the school in an affluent residential district of Lewiston. The college struggled to finance its operations after the financial crisis of 1857, requiring extra capital to remain afloat. Cheney's political activities attracted Benjamin Bates, who was interested in fostering his business interests in Maine. Bates donated installments of tens of thousands of dollars to the college to bring it out of the crisis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bates College traditions</span> Aspect of Bates College culture

The traditions of Bates College include the activities, songs, and academic regalia of Bates College, a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. They are well known on campus and nationally as an embedded component of the student life at the college and its history.

Bridget Terry Long is an American economist is the 12th Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Saris Professor of Education and Economics at Harvard University. She is an economist whose research focuses on college access and success. Long is a Faculty Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a member of the National Academy of Education.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Clayton Spencer". The Maine Magazine. March 11, 2013. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "Wow! Clayton Spencer begins a new relationship with her new college". Bates College. June 15, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  3. "A. Clayton Spencer". Phillips Exeter Academy. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Clayton Spencer, Harvard Vice President, to Lead Bates College". The New York Times . December 4, 2011. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  5. Woz, Markus (2002). Traditionally Unconventional. Ladd Library, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine: Bates College. p. 6.
  6. "Facebook founder's roommate recounts creation of Internet giant". Haaretz . Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  7. "Crimson Summer Academy Commemorates 10-Year Anniversary". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  8. "A boost for city students". Harvard Gazette. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  9. "About: Crimson Summer Academy at Harvard University". www.crimsonsummer.harvard.edu. 2022. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  10. "A. Clayton Spencer Appointed President of Bates". Harvard Magazine . December 4, 2011. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  11. "Biography – Office of the President – Bates College". bates.edu. Archived from the original on February 12, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  12. "Right-Hand Woman | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. June 4, 2008. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  13. "Maine college has new president". Boston.com . Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  14. "'Questions Worth Asking' — President Clayton Spencer's inaugural address". Bates College. October 29, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
  15. "Inaugural Address Bates President Clayton Spencer" (PDF). Bates College.
  16. Bates College Common Data Set 2012 (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 22, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  17. "$11.5 million Catalyst Fund will support 'transformational change' at Bates College". Bates College. October 28, 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  18. "Report of Giving 2013". Bates College. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  19. "Report of Giving 2014". Bates College. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  20. "Moody's assigns A1 to Bates College's (ME) $24M Revenue Bonds, Series 2015; outlook stable". Moodys.com. May 26, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  21. "'Great Day' sets all-time giving record to secure $250K challenge gift". April 10, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  22. "Bates announces gifts of $19 million to create six new endowed professorships and launch the college's new digital and computational studies program". Bates College. February 8, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  23. "Giving to Bates soars to record $28.2 million, more than doubling since 2013". July 28, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  24. "Bates receives its largest donation ever - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  25. "President Spencer attends today's White House summit on college opportunity". Bates College. January 15, 2014. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  26. Belkin, Douglas (December 19, 2014). "Obama Spells Out College-Ranking Framework". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  27. 1 2 "Liberal arts colleges explore interdisciplinary pathways with computer science". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  28. Gray, Eliza. "The Radical New Ways Colleges Are Sizing Up Students". Time . Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  29. "CEO Corner". New England Cable News. Retrieved June 14, 2016.
  30. "College presidents call for continuation of Obama administration program protecting undocumented students" . Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  31. "Bates joins national bid to defend undocumented students". Sun Journal. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  32. "Bates College president blasts proposed cuts for higher education in tax bill - Lewiston Sun Journal". Lewiston Sun Journal. December 12, 2017. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
  33. "President and Dean of Students meet with students about changes in student life". Bates College. October 23, 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  34. "Bates cancels popular holiday party to limit binge drinking". The Bowdoin Orient . October 24, 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  35. "Bates College administrators squash popular Halloween-time party". Inside Higher Ed . Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  36. "The year without Trick or Drink: Tradition unexpectedly cancelled". The Bates Student . Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  37. "This week in NESCAC news: Bates College cancels Halloween tradition". The Colby Echo . Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  38. "News". The Spectator. Hamilton College . Retrieved February 26, 2016.
  39. "Students unsatisfied with forum". The Bates Student. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  40. "RA Meeting Minutes 3/1/15". Bates College Student Government. March 2, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  41. 1 2 "RA Meeting Minutes 2/25/15". February 26, 2015. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  42. "A Message From President Spencer". The Bates Student. Archived from the original on November 27, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  43. "Fliers posted around Bates campus 'deliberate attempt at voter suppression,' school president says". Tegna Inc. WCSH . Retrieved November 26, 2016.[ permanent dead link ]
  44. Collins, Steve (November 7, 2016). "Bates College president: Fliers left on campus aimed to suppress student voting". Bangor Daily News . Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  45. "Gov. LePage accused of voter intimidation after he says college students must establish residency if they choose to vote in Maine". The Washington Post . Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  46. "Officials: Bates College Fliers Were 'Deliberate' Voter Suppression Effort". Associated Press. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  47. 1 2 "President Spencer joins board of leading higher education group". Bates College. April 2015. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  48. "Phillips Exeter Academy | Profile: A. Clayton Spencer '73". The Exeter Bulletin. Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  49. "Spencer Elected President of Bates". Williams Magazine. Winter 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  50. "A. Clayton Spencer, Class of 1977 | Alumni Awards". Williams College. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  51. "50 People". Maine. June 27, 2014. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  52. Dhiraj, Amarendra Bhushan (September 15, 2014). "List Of Top 17 Women-Run Colleges And Universities: Female Presidents OR Chancellors 2015". CEOWORLD Magazine. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  53. "Biography | Office of the President". Bates College. November 29, 2011. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  54. "3 alumni to receive Harvard Medal". Harvard Gazette. May 24, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017.

Official links

Institutional profiles

News and publication profiles

A. Clayton Spencer
ClaytonSpenceSpeaking.png
8th President of Bates College
In office
July 1, 2012 July 1, 2023