A top fencer on the Columbia Fencing Team now has a tremendous opportunity thanks to this endowment. A Spiselman Grant may be awarded to a nationally ranked fencer to help cover the costs of competing in Fédération Internationale d'Escrime World Cups and World Championships. These grants will come from the interest earned from this endowment established in Herbert C. Spiselman's honor.

The endowment is made possible by gifts from family and friends. It honors a man of profound integrity with great appreciation for his Columbia education. Herbert C. Spiselman was an ardent, lifelong fencer who treasured his college experience as an athlete and a student. His memory is now perpetuated as Columbia's elite fencers will forever benefit thanks to the thoughtfulness of his friends and family.

Herbert C. Spiselman (1920-2000) was educated in the New York City Public Schools and began to fence at the age of twelve. Already having become an accomplished fencer, he joined the team in his freshman year at Columbia. He made an immediate impact, winning the Clemens Medal, awarded to the best freshman fencer in the Intercollegiate Fencing Association. He concluded his Lion career having won over 65% of his bouts as a foilist. Not only a student/athlete, Mr. Spiselman led a big band comprised of his classmates and helped to pay his way through college by performing on various campuses.

On the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Mr. Spiselman attempted to enlist in the United Sates Army Air Force, ultimately serving from 1942-1945 and achieving the rank of Captain. Based in England, he served as Squadron Navigator of the Eighth Air Force's 390th Bombardment Group of B-17 Flying Fortresses. Captain Spiselman completed 30 missions and was awarded the Air Medal with Three Oak Leaf Clusters and the Distinguished Flying Cross.

After returning to civilian life, Mr. Spiselman continued his career in aviation, working as an airline dispatcher, a navigation instructor, and eventually for the Federal Aviation Administration. He retired as Assistant Chief Air Traffic Controller of John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Mr. Spiselman also pursued many endeavors outside of his professional life: he enjoyed fishing, archery, and shooting, and he taught instructors firearms safety for the state of New York; he became a skilled photographer and stamp collector; he studied many languages and spoke them during his travel abroad; after retirement, he earned a masters degree in Audio Visual Education; he played singles tennis, he often coached fencing, and he fenced two or three times a week until the last days of his life.

Mr. Spiselman had the deepest appreciation for the camaraderie that he discovered at college, and the friendships that he developed were an ongoing pleasure in his life. He cherished the opportunity to study at Columbia, where he laid the foundation for his lifelong love of learning.

In 1941, he married Jane Greenbaum, Barnard '41. They had two daughters: Anne, Barnard '67, and Wynne, Barnard '72; two grandchildren: Jessica, Columbia '99, and Edson. After Jane's death in 1982, he met Judith Sagan with whom he spent his last years.