The University of Iowa

Spence Labs

Kenneth Spence

Honoree: Kenneth Wartinbee Spence
1907 - 1967

Achievements:

  • Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Iowa beginning 1938 and head of psychology department 1942 until 1964
  • During his 26-year span at the University of Iowa, Spence directed a total of 72 doctoral theses
  • Received his bachelor's in 1929 and master's in 1930 in Psychology from McGill University in Montreal; received his PhD from Yale in 1933
  • Won the Wales Gold Medal in Mental Sciences from McGill in 1929 and the university's Governor-General's Medal for Research in 1930
  • National Research Council fellow and research assistant, working with chimpanzees at the Yale Laboratories of Primate Biology in Orange Park., Florida
  • Elected to National Academy of Sciences in 1954 and was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Psychological Association (APA)
  • Known for his theoretical and experimental studies of conditioning and learning
  • Additional information

Spence Labs

 

Description of facility:

Adjacent to the Psychological and Brain Sciences Building, this facility houses Department of Psychology research laboratories and faculty offices.

Address: 308 East Iowa Avenue
Year built: 1968
Additional building information: Spence Labs

Aerial View of Building