JOHN H. SPENCER
Campbell Aldrich and Nulty
African American AIA Fellow
SAY IT LOUD - Washington DC Exhibitor
Virginia Based Designer
Bio:
The first Black architect elected to the National Architectural Accrediting Board, first Black architect appointed to the Virginia Licensing Board, and assuming numerous other local and national positions of influence within the profession.
JOHN H. SPENCER
Bio:
Under Spencer the study of architecture at Hampton University evolved through focused curricular development, fundraising, and academic excellence–the pinnacle of a 63-year career of service in education, and to the profession. John enrolled in the architectural engineering program at the Agricultural and Technical College (now university) in Greensboro, North Carolina. His education was interrupted by service in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War, then transferred to Hampton Institute (now University) graduating in 1956 with highest honors. Spencer joined the faculty of the School of Engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, where he co-founded the Committee for the Collegiate Education of Black Students (CCEBS) with support from the Ford Foundation. In its first decade, CCBES recruited and Amherst graduated more than 2,000 Black students. In 1970, Spencer returned to the Hampton Institute as Chair of the Department of Architecture, where he encouraged students to look beyond the campus gates and involve themselves in the larger community, then initiated a student exchange program between Hampton and Amherst, and a broader travel program soon followed, growing out of a need to strengthen the fifth-year planning studio. The first Black architect elected to the National Architectural Accrediting Board, first Black architect appointed to the Virginia Licensing Board, and assuming numerous other local and national positions of influence within the profession.
Year of Elevation:
1983
Featured Project Name:
Lederle Graduate Research Center
Featured Project Location:
Amherst, Massachusetts
Featured Project Completion Date:
1972
Role in Featured Project:
Contruction Administrator
Featured Project Description:
The John W. Lederle Graduate Research Center, also known as Lederle Tower or LGRT, is part of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. It is connected to the Lederle Lowrise and contains research laboratories, conference rooms, and offices for many departments within the College of Natural Sciences. It also included classroom space, formerly teaching laboratories, and a large seminar room.
