Kennedy School Grad Big Winner in Jeopardy

If the Jeopardy category were “Kennedy School Firsts,” Alex Trebek might phrase the answer this way: “This policeman left his desk in the big city for a desk at Harvard. He then returned $92,000 richer.”

The winning question: “Who is Lt. Francis Spangenberg?”

Spangenberg MPA 2005, a fourth-generation New York City cop, competed in this year’s Jeopardy World Tournament. Out of 135 people, he was one of six who made it to the semifinals, missing the finals by only one question.

The difference between winning and losing sometimes comes down to luck, says Spangenberg. But he also needed to bring plenty of smarts and book learning to advance as far as he did. And for that, the mustachioed officer credits his parents. Neither went to college, but they were always reading and encouraging him to read as well.

Growing up, Spangenberg liked Jeopardy but didn’t get serious about it until he was a new transit cop working the 4 p.m.-to-midnight shift in Brooklyn. His platoon commander loved the show, and every night during the 7 p.m. dinner break, the squad would pool their money and write down the answer to the final Jeopardy question. The winner got the cash.

Eventually, people stopped playing. They didn’t want to play with Spangenberg because he kept taking their money. So they came up with a better idea, telling him: “Why don’t you go on their show and take their money?”

“It was hearing that every day that made me want to go and apply,” Spangenberg says.

In 1989 he won five straight games and returned this year for the tournament. Spangenberg said he loved the experience but is happy to go back to his job at the New York Police Department’s Office of the Chief of Transportation, where he deals with everything from the city’s evacuation plan to parking tickets.

And when he does, it will be with a new understanding of management and leadership skills, as well as a fresh perspective. “People sometimes get too close to their jobs, and you don’t realize it until you’re away,” he says. “The Kennedy School lets you think about your job in new and fresh ways that you wouldn’t have been able to otherwise.”

But, if Jeopardy calls again offering another World Tournament, “I’ll be there like a shot.”