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Dick Spaulding: A Career Dedicated to Improving the Business of EducationOver the years, Dick Spaulding has held what he refers to as "far too many" titles at Scholastic Inc. However, it is precisely this breadth of experience that has enabled him to help lead the company to the success it has enjoyed. Known by colleagues and co-workers as "the wise man," Dick's mild manner has been a guiding force at Scholastic for over forty years. Dick began his career at Scholastic in 1960, looking for little more than something to keep him busy. Despite his family background in educational publishing - his father, William, had been the president of Houghton-Mifflin and his brother, John, at Scholastic - at the time, his only plans for the future had involved business school. "I had just finished active duty in the Air Force and school didn't start for another six months, so my brother suggested I come down to Scholastic and see what it was like to have a 'real job,'" says Dick. His first assignment was assistant to a Scholastic sales representative named Mary Johnson, who made sure all of her clients renewed their subscriptions by picking up their orders personally. When Mary was unable to travel, Dick was sent in her place, an experience he holds dear. "Meeting with all those customers face-to-face gave me a glimpse of the special role the company played in the classroom," says Dick. "If I had been working in the warehouse, shipping out orders to faceless people, things probably would have been different." As it turned out, Dick liked his job so much he decided to stay. Through more than forty years Dick has played a management role in each of Scholastic’s core businesses as well as serving as director of corporate marketing. Today he is a member of the company’s Management Executive Committee and Board of Directors. "Dick's work has literally touched every area of the company, and his wisdom can be felt from our school-based U.S. businesses such as Clubs, Fairs, Education, and Magazines, to Scholastic’s groundbreaking initiatives in Europe, Asia, Australia and Latin America," says Scholastic International President Hugh Roome. One of the keys to Dick's success has been his ability to translate his years of experience into a vision of what the education market should look like. For instance, his assignment collecting orders for Mary Johnson eventually evolved into a business mindset that is singularly customer-focused. According to Roome, the incomparable brand loyalty that Scholastic enjoys today comes in no small part from Dick's intense focus on customer service and loyalty programs for teachers. Later, as manager of a number of Scholastic book clubs, Dick learned the importance of data management and saw the enormous possibilities in investing database development. "Dick has an incredible mind for numbers," says long-time friend and colleague Jeanne Hayes. "He loves to count things and to use statistics for meaningful purposes. But he also has a keen talent for keeping perspective of what the customer wants and needs." So when Dick set out to build Scholastic's marketing database, he developed a concept that was really ahead of its time. Dick wanted to do more than just track numbers and basic information. He wanted to keep track of what people bought and the last time they had been contacted. He wanted to be able to update that information easily. And he wanted customers from all backgrounds and divisions to be included in one large bank of information. The result, according to Hayes, was "the best marketing database in educational publishing." Today, Scholastic Book Clubs remains the largest direct marketing business to teachers and schools. In addition to Scholastic's U.S. board of directors, Dick sits on a number of international subsidiary boards of the company including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. According to Roome, Dick was intensely involved in the development of these international arms, providing a bridge between what Scholastic stood for in the U.S. and how that could be applied within the context of a very different cultures. Most importantly though, throughout years of financial growth and successful corporate expansion, Dick has never let himself or those around him lose sight of Scholastic's mission - instilling the love of reading and learning in children. This is evident in his early involvement with individualized reading programs and his push for Scholastic's involvement with literacy initiatives such as Reading Is Fundamental. In an industry known for its high turnover rate, Dick is an exception to the rule. His long career at Scholastic is chiefly a result of his personality - curious, patient, and forever open to new ideas. "You'll never hear Dick turn down a suggestion just because it's been done before," says Hayes. "He'll want to know why it didn't work the first time, and what's different about it now. He always has the freshest outlook." According to his colleagues, Dick also brings an intense passion to everything he does - be it his job, his family, his work with nature conservancy efforts, or his beloved Boston Red Sox. Surely, it is this passion that accounts for his continued dedication to serving customers, staying in front of the competition, and growing Scholastic for the future. His career and life's work continues to be felt across the entire industry.
Questions, ideas, or in need of more information? Please contact Stacey Pusey at 302-295-8349.
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