With great sadness we share the news of the passing of William Spelman, LBJ Emeritus Professor of Public Affairs, and former Austin City Council member.
Bill was an urban policy specialist, a gifted teacher and researcher and a dedicated public servant. An award-winning scholar of criminal justice policy, he was one of the most cited professors at the LBJ School. Bill contributed groundbreaking research on community policing, and, for a period of seven years, brought in $1 million in grants annually to run an institute that trained 14,000 Texas cops in problem solving. From 1988 to 2021, he taught LBJ students in nearly every core course in the master’s and PhD programs among others, including research methods, finance, management and leadership and the policy process.
Beyond his academic career, he served on the Austin City Council from 1997 to 2000 and from 2009 to 2015. On the City Council, he shaped innovative approaches to policing and urban governance that have been recognized nationwide.
“Bill Spelman was a scholar, teacher and public servant whose work left a lasting mark on Austin and the field of public policy," Dean JR DeShazo said. "At the LBJ School, he mentored students and advanced research on policing and urban governance that helped shape policies nationwide. His years on the Austin City Council reflected his deep commitment to this community. LBJ students benefited from his insight, humor and dedication to public service. We are grateful for his contributions and will miss him dearly."
Bill’s legacy lives on in his scholarship, in the many students he inspired and in this great city of Austin he helped guide. A memorial is tentatively being planned for two to three weeks, and we will share arrangements as they become available.
Comments
Thank you, Professor Spelman.
Thank you for all of your efforts. Will continue to revisit your work.
Professor Spelman was an excellent teacher and an even better boss. His problems sets were challenging, but always had a fun story to guide them. He will be missed. My thoughts go to his family during this difficult time
Thank you, Professor Spelman.
Prof Spelman taught me how to be a public servant. He made an indelible mark on Austin and will be profoundly missed.
Besides the countelss students you influenced, there was nothing like watching you on the LBJ softball team, playingthe Bush School, rounding third base and headed for home. Rest in peace sir.
Professor Spelman made explaining math look so easy, he was such a gifted teacher. He’s such a core part of my memories of starting my life in Austin at the LBJ School, as his class was one of my very first grad school experiences. He was the quintessential Austinite to me.
I took Bill’s research methods class for PhD students when I was a master student and was impressed by his intellect and the way he made abstract and difficult concepts easy and accessible. He is a brilliant researcher. I still make reference to his teaching, textbooks, and research papers now and then as a faculty. He was the tallest faculty in the school and a towering figure in public affairs as well. He will be deeply missed! RIP, Bill.
This is such a loss! professor Spelman was a dedicated, engaging and inspiring teacher. I was a student of his in 1999-2000 and loved it that the PC in the computer lab kept autocorrecting his name into Superman. Thinking of it, he kind of was! I am grateful for his teaching and for inspiring me to pursue a career in local government.
My thoughts and prayers go to his family. May he rest in peace.
My thoughts and prayers go to his family. May he rest in peace.
It was always a joy to see him at city council. I learned so much.
Like many others have stated, Professor Spelman was dedicated and engaging. His lessons and values live on through all of us who were fortunate to have had him as a professor.
Before coming to the LBJ School I hadn't taken math since sophomore year in high school--I had a lot of math traums! So I was ambivalent about taking Applied Quantitative Analysis. But Bill was so incredibly enthusiastic about it and made it sound and seem so dang easy--it ended up being one of my favorite classes at the LBJ School. What a gifted educator and bright light.
Professor Spellman was inspiring as he brought Applied Quantitative Analysis to light, infusing energy and enthusiasm into our course. I specifically enjoyed how he used Hamlet to illustrate the concept of Decision Trees. He will be missed. May his memory be a blessing.
I took his catch up class for quantitative analysis since I was a history undergrad. The class changed my outlook on things. I’m now a CFO of a state agency and I still tell people about his classes and probably have my case studies. My deepest condolences to the family. I know his legacy lives on through the many students whose lives he changed.
His unwavering dedication to the PhD program and to our development as researchers will be deeply missed. He consistently challenged us to think more critically about how theory should inform our hypotheses—an intellectual rigor for which I will always be grateful.
I had the privilege of learning from Professor Spelman and serving as his TA for two courses. He was wise, witty, and had a gift for making complex ideas feel simple — I’ll never forget him slicing a watermelon to teach differentiation. He challenged us to think deeply, and his lessons will stay with me always.
This is difficult to absorb. Smart people are easy to find. Kind people are easy to find. But Prof. Spelman was the rare combination of smart and kind. He is exclusively responsible for helping me overcome my fear of quantitative problem-solving; he gave me a professional confidence that no adult in my life had given me in 29 years.
Dr. Spelman was just a wonderful human being and it was a real pleasure to have been a TA for him. This is a tremendous loss for the school and for Austin.
Bill taught the remedial quantitative short course offered to first years during Orientation, something I badly needed after hitting a wall in a calculus class during my first semester of college and deciding I was hopeless in math. I remember Bill leaping around the room and slicing a watermelon dramatically, and how quickly I understood what those dry, inscrutable calc equations were actually determining.
From there, I took a couple other classes from Bill and was lucky enough to have him serve as my first reader on my PR.
He was not only an excellent teacher but a wonderful, kind human and a devoted public servant.
My heart goes out to Niyanta, their sons, his sister, and all who knew him.
Kim Smith Unberhagen,
MPAff 1994
From there, I took a couple other classes from Bill and was lucky enough to have him serve as my first reader on my PR.
He was not only an excellent teacher but a wonderful, kind human and a devoted public servant.
My heart goes out to Niyanta, their sons, his sister, and all who knew him.
Kim Smith Unberhagen,
MPAff 1994
Prof. Spelman was a legend. I had my PRP with him and had the privilege of working with him and some of the brightest peers of mine at the LBJ School. All I can remember is a brilliant yet also down to earth and humble soul. Rest in power, legend.
Probably my favorite professor, and although I didn't know him much outside of the classroom, seemed like one of the coolest people I've ever met. From a teaching perspective, he balanced public policy theory with real world application and policy practice perhaps better than anyone I've learned from.
Engaging instructor, creative thinker and kind soul. I'm very saddened to learn of his passing, my condolences to his family, and to all of those whose lives he touched.
Engaging instructor, creative thinker and kind soul. I'm very saddened to learn of his passing, my condolences to his family, and to all of those whose lives he touched.
Victoria and I were very sad to learn of Bill Spelman's passing.
Although Bill battled a serious chronic illness for more than a decade, his passing still came as shock.
Bill (or "William" as I [Peter] would sometimes call him tongue-in-cheek) was one of our closest friends and colleagues at the LBJ School: he was an absolute delight to know. His quiet intelligence (he was easily the smartest in the School, but he never saw himself as such and never sought to claim or laud the fact); his modesty, his integrity, his sense of humor, and total commitment to teaching and his students were breathtaking, (as was his timekeeping and forgetfulness of appointments on occasions! — but somehow, he made that a part of his charm).
As his colleagues and former directors of the PhD Public Policy program Victoria and I relied upon his leadership and participation in the program. Bill was the only faculty member in the LBJ School capable of teaching both the Theory and the Quant Comprehensive Exams classes. Indeed, we looked to him to singlehandedly set the Comps Exam Theory paper. He would spend two or three weeks thinking about and planning a challenging policy problem that he would lay out in detail and then frame into a two- or three page multiple-part question and prompt (we gave extra time so that they could read and study it!). Once written, the exam paper never failed to take our breath away with its timeliness of topic, helpful prompts (to the students [and to those of us on the exams' committee responsible for grading!]), and intrinsic intellectual challenge that would allow the brightest to shine and fly, and the less talented to journey on and (usually) scrape through.
Looking back, one sees that building the paper was, in essence, a perfect reflection of Bill: his imagination, his intellect, his creativeness, and his passion to make students think. It became an annual tour de force that we (the students and exams committee) looked forward to and greatly admired.
Our deep condolences go to his family and friends, but we do so with very fond remembrances of Bill: the scholar, teacher, and friend.
Peter (Ward) and Victoria (Rodríguez).
Although Bill battled a serious chronic illness for more than a decade, his passing still came as shock.
Bill (or "William" as I [Peter] would sometimes call him tongue-in-cheek) was one of our closest friends and colleagues at the LBJ School: he was an absolute delight to know. His quiet intelligence (he was easily the smartest in the School, but he never saw himself as such and never sought to claim or laud the fact); his modesty, his integrity, his sense of humor, and total commitment to teaching and his students were breathtaking, (as was his timekeeping and forgetfulness of appointments on occasions! — but somehow, he made that a part of his charm).
As his colleagues and former directors of the PhD Public Policy program Victoria and I relied upon his leadership and participation in the program. Bill was the only faculty member in the LBJ School capable of teaching both the Theory and the Quant Comprehensive Exams classes. Indeed, we looked to him to singlehandedly set the Comps Exam Theory paper. He would spend two or three weeks thinking about and planning a challenging policy problem that he would lay out in detail and then frame into a two- or three page multiple-part question and prompt (we gave extra time so that they could read and study it!). Once written, the exam paper never failed to take our breath away with its timeliness of topic, helpful prompts (to the students [and to those of us on the exams' committee responsible for grading!]), and intrinsic intellectual challenge that would allow the brightest to shine and fly, and the less talented to journey on and (usually) scrape through.
Looking back, one sees that building the paper was, in essence, a perfect reflection of Bill: his imagination, his intellect, his creativeness, and his passion to make students think. It became an annual tour de force that we (the students and exams committee) looked forward to and greatly admired.
Our deep condolences go to his family and friends, but we do so with very fond remembrances of Bill: the scholar, teacher, and friend.
Peter (Ward) and Victoria (Rodríguez).
I am so saddened on Bill's passing. The classes I took from him were foundational in helping me affirm my passion and pursuit of a career in local government auditing and accountability.
I was lucky to have had Bill as not only a professor, but also a consumer of the work produced by fellow LBJ alums and myself at the Office of the City Auditor when he was on Council the second time around. It was so rewarding to be able to apply concepts I learned in his classes to the various audit topics or special projects he’d request from us to inform his policymaking for the City. He was a champion of good government, performance and program evaluation, and well thought out solutions to improve the lives of all Austinies. Rest well, Bill and my condolences to his family and the many LBJ and City of Austin employees who served alongside him.
I was lucky to have had Bill as not only a professor, but also a consumer of the work produced by fellow LBJ alums and myself at the Office of the City Auditor when he was on Council the second time around. It was so rewarding to be able to apply concepts I learned in his classes to the various audit topics or special projects he’d request from us to inform his policymaking for the City. He was a champion of good government, performance and program evaluation, and well thought out solutions to improve the lives of all Austinies. Rest well, Bill and my condolences to his family and the many LBJ and City of Austin employees who served alongside him.
From the jump, Bill was such an encouragement to me--always just a notch more encouraging and positive than was merited based on the quality of work I submitted in his classes. I suppose that's called 'grace.' He was incisive, yes; you were not going to get sloppy logic past him. But he was generous and generative, turning even critical feedback into a source of building you up, and lightening up the conversation.
When the first reviews came back for the first paper I ever published, I read the first one and immediately thought "This is Spelman." It was devastating, and also carried with it suggestions for fixing all the problems it spotted. That was Bill. I will miss him greatly, and I hope to be as encouraging to my students as he was to us.
When the first reviews came back for the first paper I ever published, I read the first one and immediately thought "This is Spelman." It was devastating, and also carried with it suggestions for fixing all the problems it spotted. That was Bill. I will miss him greatly, and I hope to be as encouraging to my students as he was to us.
I was fortunate to have Dr. Bill Spelman as my professor for Theory II during my PhD at the LBJ School. His clarity of thought, deep commitment to public service, and generosity as a mentor left a lasting impression on me. I am grateful for the opportunity to have learned from him. His legacy lives on through the many students and colleagues he inspired.
With deep respect and gratitude,
Felipe Antequera.
With deep respect and gratitude,
Felipe Antequera.
Bill was a curious listener with a big laugh and goofy sense of humor. He was always a delight and will be warmly remembered by everyone lucky enough to have had a conversation with him. Condolences to his family for their loss.