Omega prides itself on being first and leading from the front. One of Omega’s sons, Bro. Ben Spencer (2-2000-Eta Phi) follows in that tradition. Bro Spencer has recently been appointed to the Deanship at the William & Mary Law School. He will assume the helm of the Top 50 (currently ranked 31) Law School on July 1st. He is not only the first African-American dean at the law school, but the first African-American to serve as Dean within any department in the university’s 327-year existence. Bro. Spencer is the first COVID-19 era law school dean appointment this year, having started the interview process at the outbreak of the pandemic. Most of Bro. Spencer’s process took place on Zoom. In an interview with Law.Com, Bro. Spencer describes his Zoom process and experience.
I had never done any virtual interviewing before. When they announced me to the faculty last week, it was through Zoom. These are people who have never seen me and now I’m going to be the dean. It’s pretty strange. But that’s the time we’re in.
Regarding his appointment and his leadership as an Omega Man, Bro. Spencer reflected,
“I have always tried to live my life in accordance with the Four Cardinal Principles, which has led me to this accomplishment. In taking on this new role, I am standing on the shoulders of outstanding Omega Men like James Nabrit Jr., Howard Law School Dean and later Howard University President, and Benjamin Elijah Mays, Morehouse College President. Omega has always been about great leadership, the pursuit of scholarship, and unparalleled excellence. Those are the values that I will bring to William & Mary Law School as I take the helm.”
Bro. Spencer will focus on student success, increasing the law school’s ranking with a goal of being in the Top 20, and building a rapport with colleagues and staff that have yet to meet him. Not that he hasn’t enough work to do, Bro. Spencer will continue in his role as a Reserve Captain in the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps where he serves as an appellate advocate for the U.S. Army.
Bro. Spencer comes from a line of distinguished public servants. His father, James R. Spencer, was a federal judge (1986) and his grandfather, Adam S. Arnold was the first African-American professor at Notre Dame, another family precedent. Bro. Spencer is a graduate of Morehouse College. He holds additional degrees from The London School of Economics (Master of Science) and Harvard Law School (JD). He is a former faculty member of the University of Virginia School of Law with expertise in civil procedure and federal jurisdiction.
Please take time out and celebrate this wonderful achievement and precedent-setting appointment of our own, Bro. A. Benjamin Spencer, the pride of the First District.
Bro. Spencer was initiated into the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated on July 8, 2000.