by Louisa Nordberg ’27
May 2024
Harvey B. Sperling, former director of University School of Nashville, passed away on February 27 at the age of 82 due to pancreatic cancer.
After his passing, USN community members have revisited his impact on the school. Countless students and teachers felt listened to and cared for by Mr. Sperling when he was director and even after.
History teacher and 11th-12th Grade Dean Matthew Haber ‘98 recalled how everyone loved him.
“I remember him from when I was a student, just being very smiley and kind,” Haber said.
While most current students did not know Sperling personally, all have heard his name from the Sperling Gym, which was named after him. The construction of the gym was not the only project Sperling oversaw. During his tenure at USN, which lasted from 1979-1990, he oversaw the construction of the Tibbott Center, the cafeteria, and the Harvey B. Sperling Center (colloquially referred to as “the Loft”). Sperling also helped the school get through difficult financial times.
English teacher Ann Wheeler, who arrived at USN in 1985, explained that at the beginning of Sperling’s tenure, the future of USN was uncertain.
“There was some question when I came about whether the high school would even survive,” Wheeler said.
Sperling was known to have a vision of what he wanted USN to become. He wanted to make USN into a well-acclaimed school within the Nashville community.
“The USN that we know is really his vision – this idea that we could be an independent school that is open to all different kinds of people,” Haber said. “I think diversity is at the core of our mission. The idea that we can be the best academic institution in the area. That’s because of him.”
As part of his his vision, Sperling combined his love of Japan and hope for the school to create international connections. He created exchange programs for teachers and students through a school in Japan. This school was called the Kwansei Gakuin High School. USN teachers were able to apply to teach English at this school for a year. Faculty from that school could also come to visit USN.
Math Department Chair Cindy Crenshaw praised Sperling for his international connections.
“It just gave [USN] more of a worldview at the time in a way that was not a norm,” Crenshaw said.
In addition to solidifying USN’s commitment to diversity, Sperling also raised money to build a new cafeteria, gym, and many classrooms. The cafeteria used to be located in the Commons on the fourth floor but, with the growth and the new ideas Mr. Sperling was bringing to USN, it was necessary for the cafeteria to relocate.
Crenshaw explained that Sperling wanted to prioritize aspects of student life outside of academics, such as arts and athletics.
“He embraced students investigating their artistic and creative side as much as intellectuals,” Crenshaw said.
During Wheeler’s time working with Mr. Sperling, she acknowledged the work he put into the school.
“He was very careful about wanting to present the image that we were a place that took things seriously. That we took academics seriously. And we took art seriously. And we took athletics seriously. That we weren’t just playing,” Wheeler said.
After completing his tenure at USN, Sperling worked as the Director of University School of Milwaukee, a pre-K through 12th grade school similar to USN. While saddened by the loss of Mr. Sperling, his legacy will carry on and the changes he made in our school will stay in our thoughts.
Although today’s students know him from the facilities he built, he did much more than that; he made sure students were his top priority, a part of our culture that remains today.
To honor his memory, Sperling’s family steers community members and loved ones to make gifts to USN’s Harvey Sperling Endowed Scholarship Fund, which will continue to impact generations of students at the school.
Crenshaw recalled and quoted a particular phrase often said by Sperling.
“‘We need to do what’s in the best interest of the students.’”
