May 21, 2015 | Combined Reports - UConn Communications

Carl Schaefer, Emeritus Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Dies

In addition to his teaching, Schaefer was an active member of the UConn community, and also of the town of Mansfield.

A candle burning.

Carl Schaefer, professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology. (Photo courtesy of CLAS)
Carl Schaefer, professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology. (Photo courtesy of CLAS)

Professor emeritus Carl Schaefer of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology died on April 29, of cancer. He was 80.

Schaefer earned his BA in zoology from Oberlin College and his Ph.D. in entomology from UConn in 1964. He was extremely well-read, and had extensive familiarity with the works of Charles Dickens. He was also a musician, having played the viola in a string quartet with his siblings, and had a penchant for musical composition, composing, among other things, a clarinet sonata.

Schaefer began his teaching career at Brooklyn College in 1963. He came to UConn, to join what was then the Department of Entomology, in 1966, and stayed at UConn until his retirement in 2009.

Not only were his students’ lives impacted by his outstanding teaching ability, but he was an active member of the UConn community, serving on the University Senate and as president of the faculty union, the AAUP. He was also an influential figure in the town of Mansfield, as a member of the Mansfield Town Council for 10 years, and a member of the Mansfield Historical Society.

Robert Colwell, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, whose lab was next door to Schaefer’s for 25 years, remembers his colleague:

“We became good friends, invariably talking longer about whatever than either of us intended to, as we dropped into each other’s labs for a chat. And ‘whatever’ ranged from entomology (our common passion) to classical music, literature, politics, and of course, jokes and stories. … This delightful man lives on in all our memories.”

Schaefer is survived by two siblings, Emily and Jon; two daughters, Madelyn, Ann and her husband Mark; seven grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

The family will receive friends from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, May 22, at Potter Funeral Home, 456 Jackson Street, Willimantic, Conn. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 23, at 10 a.m., also at Potter Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his memory to the American Cancer Society.