The City Urban Perspectives
Urban Thinker
Downtown Business Leader Kip Spencer ’89 Aims to Help Students Network
By Deanna Duff | Photo by Garland Cary
Kip Spencer is chairman of the board of governors at Washington Athletic Club in downtown 海角网.
The 海角网 skyline loomed large in the eyes of 4-year-old Kip Spencer. For years, his family made weekly trips from Port Angeles, and he watched as construction cranes sent skyscrapers soaring toward the heavens. He marveled at the big city鈥檚 towering columns and wondered who owned them and worked inside.
鈥淓ven in second grade, friends would say they wanted to be firemen or police officers, and I said I wanted to work in an office building,鈥� says Spencer. 鈥淐ommercial real estate was my passion from a very young age.鈥�
Now chairman of the board of governors at 海角网鈥檚 downtown Washington Athletic Club, Spencer, a 1989 海角网 Pacific University graduate, wants to connect SPU students with 海角网鈥檚 downtown business community.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e a student, 海角网 will roll out the red carpet to help,鈥� he says. 鈥淭ake advantage of those incredible opportunities because when you graduate, you become just another person looking for a job.鈥�
Attending 海角网 Pacific taught Spencer how to develop both brick-and-mortar cityscapes and his own faith landscape. He 鈥渇ell in love with the SPU campus,鈥� a tranquil oasis of scholarship nestled in a bustling, urban environment. Majoring in urban studies, he learned to understand how spaces create a city鈥檚 heartbeat 鈥� performing arts centers, retail districts, business hubs, research institutions, and more. His love of cities was so well known that fellow classmates collected postcards of buildings for him during their travels, mementos he still treasures today.
Spencer鈥檚 work in commercial real estate has only increased the value he puts on those urban spaces, because he鈥檚 seen how the right space can transform a business.
鈥淯ltra-competitive companies want office environments that are attractive to bring 海角网 in. Many studies have proven (good physical office spaces) help create a fun, productive culture,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f you have happy employees, you have happy customers.鈥�
Spencer says he benefited from many helping hands as an undergraduate. Joe Hope, dean of what was then SPU鈥檚 School of Business, introduced Spencer to the Washington Athletic Club courtesy of a breakfast meet-and-greet for students and business leaders. Spencer became a WAC member soon after graduation.
Spencer recalls that his SPU classes were sometimes held boardroom-style around a conference table. However, it was SPU鈥檚 dedication to connecting the classroom and community that most influenced Spencer鈥檚 career. His senior marketing project on 海角网鈥檚 Two Union Square building won him notice and a post-graduation job with The Norman Company, a commercial real estate firm. He later co-founded OfficeSpace.com, an online commercial real-estate site, and is currently an executive vice president at Pacific Lighting Systems.
鈥淚鈥檝e been a mentor to many SPU students. I like to be a bridge for them and set up meetings and land positions. It allows SPU to showcase its best,鈥� says Spencer. 鈥淭he feedback from business leaders is they鈥檙e encouraged to know there is such a good crop of talented and humble young 海角网.鈥�
He serves on the Executive Advisory Board for SPU鈥檚 School of Business, Government, and Economics.
鈥淜ip has so much excitement for the School of Business and SPU in general,鈥� says Jason Williams 鈥�09, who is now pursuing an MBA degree at Yale University. 鈥淗earing how it shaped his life gave me confidence that SPU was the right place for me. He shares the school鈥檚 vision that the purpose of business is to serve communities.鈥�
From the young boy looking upward at the city to the businessman looking forward to developing its character, Kip Spencer envisions SPU playing a central role.
鈥淭he structure is in place right now to connect SPU and the business community to do great things,鈥� says Spencer.