Family, friends, and colleagues celebrate Professor “Sandy” Francis Spelman with a new endowment fund supporting graduate students.
If there was a play on words to be made, Professor Francis “Sandy” Spelman found it. If there was a song to be sung, the self-taught musician would pluck it out on the guitar. If there was wisdom to be shared, he gave it freely. If there was joy to be felt, he expressed it.
Spelman died in February 2025, and a group of friends, colleagues, and family members have launched a new endowment for the University of Washington’s Department of Bioengineering in his memory. The Sandy Francis and Kay Spelman Endowed Graduate Student Support Fund in Bioengineering will provide broad-based support for masters and PhD students – including tuition, stipends, and benefits – to help them complete their education and research in Bioengineering at UW.
“Dad was a very gregarious person. He was a glass half full person, fun loving with a strong sense of humor,” said Jeff Spelman, Sandy’s son.
“He was genuinely interested in what [people] had to say,” Ann Terrel, Sandy’s daughter, added. “As a kid I was a bit embarrassed at times. But, as I became an adult, I realized my dad’s skill was a gift and that he really made so many people feel at ease and welcomed.”
After receiving an undergraduate degree from Stanford University and serving as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, Spelman earned a PhD in electrical engineering from UW in 1975. He was a faculty member in the department for decades and served as Director and then Chair as Bioengineering grew from a campus center into a department in the late 1990s.
His groundbreaking work on cochlear nerve stimulation and cochlear implants, starting as a graduate student, made him a pioneer in the field.
“He was a consistently thoughtful contributor to the evolution of Bioengineering from a modest, struggling kernel of academic purpose into a broad-gauge, highly productive unit of scientific and technological excellence. He was wise, humble, and clearly grounded in solid values,” said Professor Lee Huntsman, a former colleague in the department who ultimately became President of the University of Washington.
While a faculty member, Spelman teamed with his former student Tom Clary, colleague Scott Corbett, and fellow Professor Ben Clopton to form Advanced Cochlear Systems, Inc. The company developed an unusual, alternative method for stimulating the cochlear nerve that used many more electrodes to input a range of frequencies in parallel – motivated in part by a desire to improve the degree to which patients could parse and enjoy music.
“There was an unbridled joy of doing work that we knew was important, but that not everyone agreed with. It took a certain amount of contrarianism for the four founders of [Advanced Cochlear Systems] to take on the establishment with a new approach to cochlear implants,” according to Corbett. “Sandy was a natural teacher…He was among the best intellects to be around in the space, but there was also a humor and camaraderie in the style of interaction that greatly helped the experience from the learner’s side.”
“He was patient, kind, and insightful,” Clary said. “He was always focused on how he could be most helpful.”
Tom Clary, Scott Corbett, Lee Huntsman, Jeff Spelman, and Ann Terrel, along with their spouses and current UW Professors Bruce Darling and Buddy Ratner, started the Spelman Endowed Graduate Support Fund with inaugural gifts earlier this year. These gifts will have a transformative impact on a top priority of the department, mirroring the impact he had in life and enabling talented graduate students to pursue their studies and contribute meaningfully to our community.
“The affection and respect reflected by the creation of the fund are a result not only of his academic achievements but also of the lasting inspiration of his deep, principled, and genuine humanity,” Huntsman said.