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IU Foundation President Curtis R. Simic, Class of '67 Committee Co-chair Michael I. Arnolt, and President Emeritus Adam W. Herbert
Perhaps no year in the turbulent Sixties saw greater change than 1967. "The Year of Peace and Love" also was marked by racial unrest, the Vietnam War, and campus protests.
Robert Shaffer was the Indiana University dean who guided students through those tumultuous times. At its 40th anniversary on Cream and Crimson weekend, the IU Class of 1967 showed its gratitude. The class announced it had raised $1 million to establish the Robert H. Shaffer Chair in the College of Arts and Sciences, the first time an IU class has funded an endowed chair at that level.
Shaffer served as IU’s dean of students from 1955 to 1969. "We viewed him less as an administrator and more as our mentor," says Mike Shumate, 1967 senior class president. "Way before it was fashionable to do so, Dean Shaffer championed diversity and freedom of expression."
For its 25th reunion, in 1992, the Class of ’67 recognized Dean Shaffer’s legacy by establishing an endowed professorship in the College of Arts and Sciences. Sociology professor William A. Corsaro is the current holder of the Robert H. Shaffer Class of 1967 Endowed Professorship; he will continue as holder of the chair.
Fired up by their 25th anniversary success, the class set the bar higher and kept going. They wanted to grow their endowment from a professorship into a chair.
"The campaign committee was truly dedicated and diligent," says Allison Carroll, director of Class Campaigns for the IU Foundation. "They refused to quit raising money until funding for the chair was complete."
Shaffer joined the IU School of Business faculty in 1941. After a leave for wartime service, he returned to Bloomington in 1946, as a faculty member in both business and education and as assistant dean of students. During his tenure as assistant dean, IU saw its enrollment increase more dramatically than at any other time in the University’s history. Shaffer served as dean of students throughout the turbulent 1960s. Then, under his direction as chair of the department of Higher Education and Student Affairs, IU ultimately became a major center for student affairs and one of the top producers of college presidents in the country.
In addition to his work on campus, Dean Shaffer also served as a consultant in university administration in Thailand and Afghanistan, and he directed IU’s project in educational administration in Saudi Arabia. His numerous publications are landmarks in the field of student affairs, and throughout his career he was a consultant to national educational and government organizations.