Stacey (Gorski) Spring ’95, PhD, connected with Blair students, faculty and staff on March 31 at 7 p.m. to discuss “Lessons from Europe: Could the U.S. Break Its Two-Party Political System?” at a virtual Society of Skeptics presentation. A member of the history faculty at Groton School in Groton, Massachusetts, since 2015, Dr. Spring is a familiar face at Blair as both an alumna and former faculty member. 

To watch the presentation in full, click "play" below:

Having recently completed her doctorate in political science at Boston University, Dr. Spring traced her love of the subject to the Russian history course she took as a Blair senior with longtime history teacher and Society of Skeptics coordinator Martin Miller, PhD. She subsequently earned bachelor’s degrees in political science and English at Middlebury College and began her teaching career at Peddie School before joining Blair’s history and English faculty in 2002.

Amid the busy whirl of life as a Blair faculty member, Dr. Spring immersed herself in the world of political science when she began teaching AP comparative politics in 2007—in fact, she read 18 books that summer in order to nail down her knowledge of the countries covered in the course and their systems of government. The next step of her career—after she and her husband, former Blair history teacher Ryan Spring, welcomed their son, Owen, to the world—brought her to a sabbatical year in 2010-2011, during which she completed a master’s degree in political science at Lehigh University. There, she studied the European Union, nationalism and regional parties under Dr. Janet Laible, while completing independent work on Nigerian nationalism.

Dr. Laible encouraged Dr. Spring to consider doctorate programs and, in 2013, with her second child, Elly, a year old, she began pursuing her PhD at Boston University under Dr. Vivien Schmidt. “I could not have gotten luckier,” she reflected. “Besides being a top American scholar in the field of European politics, Vivien is so optimistic and encouraging. I like to think I have a nose for finding people like this in my life, dating back to the people at Blair who motivated me in the late ’90s.” She counts Dr. Miller, English teacher and Dean of Campus Life Carolyn Conforti-Browse ’79 and former Athletic Director Dan Hazen among her many Blair mentors.

Dr. Spring’s dissertation focused on the historic rise of the Scottish National Party since 2007, and she will bring her research to her discussion at Skeptics. “Attendees will learn about politics across the pond, the role of paradox in politics and a potential pathway to third-party growth in the U.S.,” she said. “Beyond that, I hope that faculty and students alike will be inspired by my story to keep pushing limits and expectations despite momentary setbacks, fear of failure and the notable detail that nothing worthwhile is easy.”

“It’s was an honor to speak at Skeptics,” Dr. Spring added. “I was excited to share my current work and, hopefully, inspire a community I love.”

The History of Skeptics

The Society of Skeptics was established as a forum for students and faculty to discuss and debate important global issues; it has grown to become one of the premier high school lecture series in the United States. Each week, speakers from the political, social, scientific, economic and literary arenas share their unique perspectives with students, who are encouraged to engage with presenters, asking questions and debating points of view.

The program was an outgrowth of the Blair International Society, begun in 1937. Forty years later, former history department chair Elliott Trommald, PhD, Hon.’65, established the modern Skeptics program as a regular forum for student discussion and debate; history teacher Martin Miller, PhD, took over in the mid-1980s and molded the program into a weekly lecture series, one that has since continued without interruption. Under the tutelage of Dr. Miller, Skeptics has featured a wide variety of speakers who are engaging, accomplished in their respective fields and often controversial. For a listing of upcoming Skeptics programs, please click here.