1982

John Schaefer became RC president.

John Paul Schaefer received his B.S. in chemistry from the Polytechnic Institute in Brooklyn, New York; his Ph.D. in chemistry from University of Illinois, Urbana; and did postdoctoral work at California Institute of Technology.

He began his career as an assistant professor of chemistry at University of California, Berkeley, before moving to University of Arizona in 1960. He served 21 years on the faculty of the University of Arizona, where he was head of the Department of Chemistry and dean of the College of Liberal Arts. He became president of the university in 1971, at age 37.

While president of Research Corporation (1982-2005), Schaefer was instrumental in the establishment of the Large Binocular Telescope. He served as Chairman of the Board of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Corp., which is constructing an enormous telescope in Chile.

In addition to teaching and research, Dr. Schaefer is a skilled photographer and one of the founders of the Center for Creative Photography at University of Arizona.