Giving

Endowment

Endowment

The Spence Endowment is the foundation that sustains the stewardship of our resources and our legacy for academic excellence.
Spence is fortunate to have had the support of many alumnae, parents, and friends throughout its history who have contributed to the general endowment or have established permanent Faculty Funds, Instructional Funds and Scholarship Funds.

For more information, please contact Georgia Siampalioti, Director of Development, at 212-710-8131 or gsiampalioti@spenceschool.org.

Scholarship Funds

List of 27 items.

  • Arlene Joy Gibson Financial Aid Fund

    The Arlene Joy Gibson Financial Aid Fund was established by the Board of Trustees with gifts from the Spence community upon the retirement of Arlene Joy Gibson, Head of School from 1998 to 2006. The fund recognizes her leadership and supports her commitment to making a Spence education broadly accessible to talented, eager and deserving students.

  • Baker Scholarship

    John C. and Raquel C. Baker, parents of Alessandra ’01, established this fund in 2001 to help increase the geographic diversity of the student body. The fund provides financial assistance to a student who lives outside the borough of Manhattan.

  • Bendheim Family Scholarship Fund

    The Robert Bendheim Family Scholarship Fund was established in memory of Gail Bendheim ’74 and made possible by funding from the Leon Lowenstein Foundation to provide tuition assistance.

  • C.V. Starr Scholarship Fund

    The C.V. Starr Scholarship Fund was established in 1988 with grants from The Starr Foundation and provides scholarship aid to many deserving students at Spence.

  • Charlotte Baker Scholarship Fund

    An anonymous alumna established this fund in 1959 to honor Charlotte Sanford Baker, Head of School from 1923 to 1929. The scholarship’s recipient is an Upper School student who is courteous, thoughtful of others and willing to give of herself to attain high ideals.

  • Charlotte Starin Stancliffe 1917 Scholarship Fund

    The estate of Charlotte Starin Stancliffe, Class of 1917, provided for the establishment of this fund in 2003. It supports a full-tuition scholarship for one deserving recipient.

  • Clara B. Spence Scholarship Fund

    The Clara B. Spence Scholarship Fund is named for the School’s founder and was established in 2002 through the bequest of Artemis Karagheusian, Class of 1923.

  • Class of 1993 Kindergarten Scholarship

    The Class of 1993 senior gift established this scholarship to provide financial assistance for a deserving student entering Kindergarten through her Lower School years.

  • Clifford & Wareham Family Scholarship

    The Board of Trustees established and named this scholarship in 1985 upon the retirement of Board president Stewart Clifford. Additional funds were given to honor the life and legacy of alumna Cornelia Ashley Wareham '03, Stewart's beloved granddaughter. Ashley is the daughter of Ray Wareham, also a past Board president. It is awarded to a deserving Grade 9 student who retains the fund's support until she graduates. 

  • Dorothy Osborne Scholarship Fund

    An Upper School student who, through her integrity and intellectual curiosity, has enriched the life of the Spence community is chosen each year to receive this scholarship. The fund was established upon the retirement of Dorothy B. Osborne, Head of School from 1936 to 1952.

  • Elizabeth Selden Field Weis ’35 Memorial Scholarship

    Frederick Weis created this fund in 1984 in honor of his mother, Elizabeth Selden Field Weis ’35. One student, at any grade level, retains the scholarship until graduation.

  • Melissa Candida Doi ’87 Scholarship Fund

    Established in memory of the alumna who died in the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001, the Melissa Candida Doi ’87 Scholarship Fund provides a full scholarship for four years to a deserving student in the Upper School.

  • Middle Income Scholarship Fund

    The Middle Income Scholarship Fund was established in 1995 through a grant from the Howard Johnson Foundation. Gifts to the fund help provide financial aid to students from middle income families.

  • Molly Woodroofe Travel Fund

    Established by John, Anne and Blair Parker in 2016, the Fund honors the memory of Molly Woodroofe, beloved Spence history teacher and department head from 2013-16.  Proceeds from the fund support need-based financial aid for student trips in honor of Molly's deep commitment to understanding different perspectives through engagement.

  • Nan and Diane A. Nixon ’53 Emergency Scholarship Fund

    Diane Nixon ’53 established this fund in 1993 in honor of her mother, Nan Nixon, to provide funds for families experiencing emergency tuition needs.

  • Nancy Elting Fund

    Named in honor of former Head of Lower School Nancy Elting, this fund was established with an anonymous gift in 1999 and supports a full scholarship for one minority student as she progresses from Kindergarten to Grade 12.

  • Riggio Scholarship Fund

    The Riggio Scholarship Fund was established in 2002 by Leonard and Louise Riggio, parents of Stephanie ’02, to provide full-tuition assistance to a minority student who could not otherwise afford to attend Spence.

  • Sandra Stralem Russell ’50 Scholarship

    Donna Russell Cronin ’74 created this fund in memory of her mother to provide a partial tuition scholarship for a deserving student.

  • The Financial Aid Fund to Honor Faculty of Distinction

    Established in 2006, this fund allows donors to support the financial aid endowment and to honor faculty members at Spence. The fund aims to increase diversity at Spence, whether so-cio-economic, ethnic, cultural or geographic, with scholarship support for students in Grades K through 12. The inaugural gift was made in recognition of Kelleher Jewett, a member of the English Department.

  • The General Scholarship Fund

    The Board of Trustees established this fund in 1968 to be used for general scholarship purposes.

  • The Helen Shumway Mayer 1922 Scholarship Fund

    An endowed scholarship fund named for Helen Shumway Mayer, Class of 1922, was established in 2007 through grants from her estate to provide financial support for a deserving student.

  • The James Coleman Endowed Fund for Drama

    The James Coleman Fund for Drama was established by the Board of Trustees upon his retirement in 2015. The fund recognizes James’s contributions to Spence and its students for more than 30 years, and annually supports a Spence student seeking theatrical training and study over summer break.

  • The Margaret Smith and Elizabeth Hill Fund

    The Margaret Smith and Elizabeth Hill Fund was established in 2021 to honor and recognize these extraordinary women and Spence Grandmothers. The fund supports financial aid each year to ensure a Spence education is possible to deserving students.

  • The Marilyn Lunnetta Financial Fund

    The Marilyn Lunnetta Financial Aid Fund honors Marilyn’s many years of service to Spence as a teacher, coach, colleague and mentor. The Fund supports deserving scholarship students.

  • The Portia Fund

    Established in 2012 by a Spence alumna, The Portia Fund provides financial aid that fosters excellence and diversity within the student body.

  • The Yedda Epstein Fund

    The Yedda Epstein Fund was established by a friend of the School in 2004 through the Estate of Yedda Epstein. It provides tuition scholarships for one or more Lower School students.

  • Von Bothmer Scholarship

    A student with a sustained interest or talent in the visual arts is awarded this scholarship established in 1984 by the Von Bothmer family.

Instructional Funds

List of 20 items.

  • Anne Sophie Laumont ’99 Fund

    The Anne Sophie Laumont ’99 Fund was established in 1998 by Sophie’s parents, family and friends to honor her passion for knowledge, pay homage to her courageous spirit, cherish her legacy and extend the spark of her creativity to future generations of Spence students. Each year the income of the Fund is used to support a lecture in Sophie’s memory in one of the following areas: the arts, literature or the sciences.

  • Bertrande Benoist Archbold ’50 Lecture Fund

    The Bertrande Benoist Archbold ’50 Lecture Fund was established in 1968 to support lectures and the purchase of supplies for the art history department.

  • Computer Science Fund

    Established in 2016, this fund supports the Department of Computer Science.  Income from the fund supports faculty and curriculum, and establishes Computer Science as a new academic department.

  • Cordelia Hepburn Cushman 1913 Fund for Shakespeare

    Established by the Cushman family in memory of Cordelia Hepburn Cushman, Class of 1913, the income of this fund is used to enhance the study of Shakespeare.

  • Courtney Steel ’87 Visiting Author Program

    This fund was established to honor and remember Courtney Steel ’87 by her parents, family and friends. Through lectures, which bring a writer of national stature to the School each year, Courtney’s passion for literature, gift for writing and respect for the nuances of language continue to inspire Spence students.

  • Elise T. Bailen Memorial Fund

    Eliot Bailen established and named the Elise T. Bailen Memorial Fund in 1979 in honor of his wife to support the activities of the Model UN program and the history curriculum.

  • Engineering and Design Fund

    This fund was established in 2014 to create a new K-12 Engineering and Design Program. Income from the fund provides yet more opportunities for powerful hands-on, inquiry-based learning for Spence students in all divisions.

  • Evelyn G. Haynes Fund

    This fund was established in memory of Evelyn G. Haynes by her daughter, Amanda H. Haynes-Dale ’68, to honor Evelyn’s lifelong interests in the arts and classical architecture. The fund is used to support the teaching of Art History and the Visual Arts Department.

  • Gail I. Hartman '60 Fund for Visual Arts

    Established in memory of their sister and aunt, respectively, by William Hartman and W. Wright Hartman, this fund supports visual arts in the Upper School.

  • Instructional Health/PE Fund

    The School’s health curriculum and the physical education program are supported through this fund, established in 1994 with gifts from Leonard Holzer and Marsia Trinder-Holzer and Joseph and Lesley Hoopes.

  • Margaret Scolari Barr Lecture Fund

    In honor of its 25th Reunion in 1989, the Class of 1964 established the Margaret Scolari Barr Lecture Fund in recognition of her contribution to arts education and in appreciation for her distinguished career at Spence. The income of the fund is used to sponsor an annual lecture on the visual arts.

  • Middle School Girls in Science Fund

    This fund was established in 2017 with a grant from The Starr Foundation, facilitated by Hanna Lundqvist Dameron ’04 and her father, Bertil Lundqvist, to support the Middle School Girls in Science Program. Income from the fund is used to encourage students to develop a passion for scientific research with hands-on, experiential opportunities offered both during and outside the school day.

  • Randall’s Island Endowment Fund

    Gifts to this fund, established in 2005, support the School’s long-term initiative to develop and maintain athletic fields on Randall’s Island in New York City.

  • The Fund for Squash

    Established in 2021, this fund supports all operating and squash expenses for facilities and programs of squash at Spence.

  • The General Library Endowment Fund

    The School’s two libraries are maintained and new books and supplies are purchased through this fund established in 1930 with a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

  • The Hannah Barry ’96 Fund

    The Hannah Barry ’96 Fund was established in her memory in 1984 to instill in Lower School students an enduring love of books and reading.

  • The Mandarin Endowment Fund

    The Mandarin Endowment Fund was established in 2007 to support the study of Mandarin. The income of the fund is used to support the curriculum and sponsor a variety of related learning experiences and activities.

  • The Mary Frosch Justice and Equity Lecture Fund

    Established by the Board of Trustees upon her retirement in 2015, The Mary Frosch Justice and Equity Lecture Fund supports an annual speaker and salutes Mary’s deep and enduring dedication to equity throughout her more than 30 years of teaching at Spence.

  • The Sloan Lindemann ’85 and Roger Barnett Philanthropy Fund

    This innovative endowment fund, established in 2005, gives seniors at Spence an opportunity to explore the world of philanthropy, and to award a grant to a nonprofit organization in New York City. Through a series of seminars, the students learn about the value of giving back to make a difference as alumnae and members of their communities.

  • Vera Gander Montessori Fund

    Harvey Bagg and Martha Coultrap, parents of Charlotte ’99 and Emma ’04, facilitated the creation of this fund in honor of the Vera Gander Montessori School. The fund provides resources and materials for the Lower School mathematics program.

Faculty Funds

List of 9 items.

  • Barbara Colbron Fund

    The Board of Trustees established this fund upon the retirement of Barbara Colbron, Head of School from 1952 to 1970. The fund supports the School’s long-term commitment to faculty and curriculum development.

  • Edes P. Gilbert Fund for Professional and Personal Growth

    The Edes P. Gilbert Fund for Professional Development and Personal Growth was established in 1998 with gifts from Spence alumnae, parents and friends to honor Edes Gilbert’s retirement as Head of School. The fund supports annual awards to faculty for summer travel, seminars, independent research and workshops.

  • Edward E. Ford Fund for Upper School Salaries

    The Edward E. Ford Foundation established this fund in 1990 to support faculty salaries in the Upper School.

  • Faculty Development Fund

    The fund was established in 1982 and the income is used to provide resources for faculty education and renewal programs such as advanced study, seminars and workshops. Each year the Faculty Development Fund receives a contribution from the Parents’ Association; alumnae and friends also contribute.

  • Faculty Salary Endowment

    Through gifts from the Capital Campaign in 1985, the Board of Trustees created this fund to support faculty salaries for teachers K-12.

  • George Henry Watson III Fund for Professional Development

    Established in 2016 by Ellen and George Watson in memory of their son George Henry Watson III, who taught in the Spence Lower School from 2008-10, this endowment provides professional development funds annually for Spence faculty.  Grants are given to projects that honor George's commitment to pedagogical innovation and inquiry, and imaginative delivery.

  • Scholarship Fund for Children of Faculty and Administrators

    The Class of 1991 senior gift established this fund to assist full-time administrators and teachers with the tuition costs for their children attending independent schools at the high school level or college at the undergraduate level.

  • Teaching and Learning Professional Development Fund

    Established in 2016, this Fund supports release time for K-12 faculty to pursue collaborative, on-site, research-based and sustained professional development.

  • The Peter W. Keegan Fund for 21st Century Perspectives

    The Peter W. Keegan Fund for 21st Century Perspectives, established in 2009, supports professional development among administrators and faculty to increase their capacity for discourse and interchange around diversity. The Fund augments economic diversity among Spence students and families by providing financial aid across Grades K–12.

Middle & Upper School

22 East 91st Street
New York, NY 10128

Lower School

56 East 93rd Street
New York, NY 10128

Athletic & Educational Facility

412 East 90th Street
New York, NY 10128
A K-12 independent school in New York City, The Spence School prepares a diverse community of girls and young women for the demands of academic excellence and responsible citizenship.

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