Gayle Spencer

Gayle Spencer serves as the Director of the Illinois Leadership Center and holds the title of TEC Lecturer at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Previously, she served as Associate Dean of Student Life and adjunct faculty at Kansas State University’s Staley School of Leadership Studies, and held roles at the University of Notre Dame and University of Houston.

Her education includes a Ph.D. in Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Kansas State University), M.S. in College Student Personnel (Western Illinois University), and B.S. in Business Administration (University of Nebraska at Omaha).

Spencer’s teaching focuses on leadership development, emotional intelligence, and sustainable change. Courses include LEAD 460 (Future of Leadership), SE 361 (Emotional Intelligence Skills), and TE 462 (Leading Sustainable Change). Her work emphasizes practical application of leadership theories in organizational and educational contexts.