Eldon G. Schafer Papers
Scope and Contents note
The Eldon G. Schafer Papers document Schafer’s personal life as well as certain aspects of his professional career as president of Lane Community College, 1970-1985. The collection contains biographical information about Schafer’s college days, his military service, his career in education, and his death. The collection also contains personal records of the Schafer and Brokaw (wife Lucy’s family) families. Other records that document his personal and professional career can be found in the series of correspondence, speeches and writings, and subject files as well as in the photographs, slides, audio recordings, and video recordings.
Dates
- Creation: 1916 - 1990
Creator
- Eldon G. Schafer (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access note
There are no access restrictions. The collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use note
There are no use restrictions.
Biographical Note
Eldon Guy Schafer (1922-1985) was president of Lane Community College for fifteen years, 1970-1985.
Schafer was born in Molalla, Oregon, to Lillian M. and Guy F. Schafer on February 27, 1922. He attended rural elementary and secondary schools in the Canby and Molalla area, and after high school graduation in 1939, he attended Oregon State University in 1941. In 1942 he joined the U.S. Army and entered an engineering program at Pomona College in California. He was sent to Europe in 1943 and served with the 124th Armored Engineers and 13th Armored Division in France, Germany, and Austria.
After the war he returned to Pomona College, where he was active in sports, and graduated with a B.A. in 1948. He continued his education in California, receiving an M.A. (1960) and a Ph.D. (1965) in Education Administration from Claremont Graduate School.
He married Lucy Jane Brokaw in Los Angeles in 1947; their son, Kenneth, joined the family in 1961.
Schafer began his teaching career at Capistrano High School in California where he taught and coached sports, 1950-1952 and served as dean of students, principal, and district superintendent, 1957-1966. He was associate dean of instruction at Riverside City College, 1966-1967.
Schafer moved to Oregon in 1967 to become the founding president of Linn-Benton Community College, 1967-1970. From there he moved to the presidency of Lane Community College, 1970-1985.
Schafer was active in many regional and national educational organizations and served as officers for the Oregon Community College Association, the Northwest Association of Community and Junior Colleges, the League for Innovation in the Community College, the Commission on Colleges of Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges, and the Oregon Community College Presidents' Council.
He traveled to China twice, in 1982 and 1984, as a member of the International Visiting Team of the World Bank Educational Advisory Group. The group assisted China in restructuring its vocational education.
Dr. Schafer resigned as president of the college on April 30, 1985. He died on August 6, 1985 following a long battle with leukemia and multiple myeloma (cancer of the bone marrow).
Extent
24 Containers (1-10, 16-20: document boxes 11-12, 21: small flat boxes 13-14: rolls 15, 23-24: oversize folders in shared box)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The collection contains personal and professional papers from Eldon Schafer's career as president of Lane Community College, 1970-1985. The collection documents Schafer's personal and family history, his military service, and his death.
Arrangement note
The collection is divided into seven series.
Series A: Biographical Records/Eldon G. Schafer, 1947-1986
Series B: Biographical Records/Family History, 1916-1990
Series C: Correspondence, 1940-1985
Series D: Speeches and Writings, 1960-1985
Series E: Subject Files, 1950-1985
Series F: Photographs, Slides, Video Tapes, and Audio Tapes, 1932-1985
Series G: Ephemera, 1939-1985
Location
CEN 18.19.20 -- 13/7/3-5
Immediate Source of Acquisition note
The collection was donated to the college archives by Lucy B. Schafer on January 9, 1992, in two separate accessions.
Location
Location: (18) 07/03-5; (20) 08/10/02; (314) 11/01-2
Processing Information note
The collection was inventoried, arranged and described by Michael Ridderbush in 1991. The finding aid was completed by Elizabeth Uhlig in 1998 and revised in 2007 merging the two original accessions.
Subject
- Lane Community College (Eugene, Or.) (Organization)
- Schafer, Eldon G. (Person)
- Schafer, Lucy B. (Person)
- Title
- Guide to Eldon G. Schafer Papers 1916-1990
- Author
- Michael Ridderbusch and Elizabeth Uhlig
- Date
- 1998, 2007
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Repository Details
Part of the Lane Community College Archives Repository