Spencer Foundation to Mark the Passing of Its Founder | Teachers College Columbia University

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TC Mourns Henry Thomas James, Founding President of the Spencer Foundation

Henry Thomas James, Founding President of the Spencer Foundation
Henry Thomas James, Founding President of the Spencer Foundation
Henry Thomas James, Founding President of the Spencer Foundation and former Dean of the School of Education at Stanford University, died in late September at age 100. He was the father of TC Provost and Dean Tom James.

The senior James began his education in a one-room schoolhouse, graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Lacrosse, earned a Master of Philosophy Degree from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and then worked as a classroom teacher, school principal, district superintendent, and associate state superintendent of education in Wisconsin. He received his Ph.D. in Education from the University of Chicago in 1958. In addition to founding  and leading the Spencer Foundation, which became a preeminent source of support for inquiry into teaching, learning and educational improvement, he co-authored, with Lamar Alexander (future U.S. Secretary of Education and U.S. Senator), The Nation’s Report Card 1989, published by the National Academy of Education.

A Celebration of Life for Henry Thomas James will be held on Saturday October 8, 2016 at 11 a.m. in Valley Community Presbyterian Church, 3100 Lilac Dr. N., in Golden Valley, Minnesota. Memorials are preferred to the Stanford Graduate School of Education, indicating in the memo line: “H. Thomas James Fellowship Fund.”

Details can be found on the Spencer Foundation site.

Published Wednesday, Oct 5, 2016