The Spencer Foundation was formed to support research on best practices in education. It has continued assisting teachers with grants at all grade levels, but in has begun to focus on racial inequality and critical race theory-aligned practices in education.
The Spencer Foundation was founded by Lyle M. Spencer, a graduate of the University of Chicago, who founded an educational publishing firm called Science Research Associates that was later sold to IBM. 1
History
The Spencer Foundation was founded in 1962 and provides grants to support educational research. 1 It was founded by Lyle M. Spencer, a graduate of the University of Chicago, who founded an educational publishing firm called Science Research Associates that was later sold to IBM. 1 Formal grant making began in 1971 and the organization has provided more than $500 million in grants since its inception. 1 The Spencer Foundation promotes an equity agenda in research and funds education research that promotes diversity. 2
Programs
Since 2021, the Spencer Foundation has published papers on racial topics including “Examining the Ecology of Racial and Educational Inequality With Research,” “Race-conscious Preparation and Support Approaches for Asian, Latinx, and Native K-12 Leaders,” “Wall to Wall: Examining the Ecology of Racial and Educational Inequality with Research,” and “On the Road to Brown and Beyond: Troubling Integration, Desegregation, and Segregation in the Fight for Black Educational Equity, Opportunity, and Justice.” 3
The Spencer Foundation provides research grants on racial equity research, transforming education, and education research grants to large and small recipients. 4 The group provides training grants on journalist education, dissertation fellowships through the National Academy of Education (NAEd), and postdoctoral fellowships through NAEd. 5 The Spencer Foundation provides field training grants for conferences and mentorship grants for educators. 6
The Spencer Foundation has made grants to study anti-racist policy decision making in school districts; transforming racial and colonial practices in graduate business schools, for leveraging “Latina/x” narratives in museums, for scrutinizing Puerto Rican elementary textbooks for racial equity, to examine black teaching in professional networks from 1925-1954, to study social workers and police involvement in child welfare, for examining student support spaces for disabled students, and to investigate how to speak to students about the “Chinese virus” and racialized trauma. 7 Grants are given to people and organizations working at all levels of the education system, from pre-K to adult education. 7
Finances
In 2019, the Spencer Foundation held assets of more than $497 million. 8 According to the group’s tax returns, in 2019 the Spencer Foundation had $51,260,147 in revenue and $27,890,300 in expenses. 8 In 2018, the group reported $32,112,287 in revenue and $23,596,847 in expenses. 9
Leadership
Na’ilah Suad Nasir has been president of the Spencer Foundation since 2017. 10 Previously she was a professor and vice-chancellor of equity and inclusion at the University of California, Berkeley. 10 Nasir has a Ph.D. in education psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles and a B.A. in psychology from UC Berkeley. 10 She is also the author of the book Racialized Identities: Race and Achievement Among African American Youth. 11
