[1][2][3][4][5][6] Spencer's presidency is considered to be a renaissance period and the first "Era of Progress" for Morgan, in which the campus underwent major transformations.

[7][8] Spencer was born on July 11, 1857, in Lynn, Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.

Spencer was an ordained minister and member of the Baltimore Conference, Methodist Episcopal Church.

[5] Spencer became president of Morgan College in 1902, and served in that position until 1937.

It also saw the first "Era of Progress"[7][8] as the college transformed from a college supported by the religious community (which focused primarily upon training young men and women for the ministry) to a college gaining support from private foundations, and offering liberal arts degrees for a variety of professions.