Recently, Elizabethtown College received a generous gift from A.C. Baugher Professor of Chemistry Emeritus Dr. Charles D. Schaeffer Jr. to support renovations to the College’s chemistry laboratories in Musser Hall.
“We are sincerely grateful to Dr. Charles D. Schaeffer Jr. and his incredible philanthropic efforts to further the educational experience for Elizabethtown College students so they may lead productive and purposeful careers,” Elizabethtown College President Betty Rider said. “His support will provide students with meaningful and innovative opportunities in a real-world learning environment to further their knowledge and skills as they pursue their degree.”
A.C. Baugher Professor of Chemistry Emeritus Dr. Charles D. Schaeffer Jr.
The $2.4 million Musser Hall project will completely overhaul laboratories used for courses such as Organic Chemistry, General Chemistry, and Quantitative Analysis and also improve laboratory support areas.
“We are so thankful for Dr. Charles D. Schaeffer Jr.’s generosity, which allows the needed Musser renovations to begin this May,” Elizabethtown College Dean of the School of Sciences Jodi Lancaster said. “These updates will enhance the hands-on teaching and learning for both current Etown students and many, many future students.”
The Musser Hall renovations will provide aesthetically pleasing and modernized facilities designed to facilitate the extensive research- and discovery-based learning activities that are the core of Etown’s chemistry and STEM curriculum.
“The department is excited to not only improve the aesthetics of the labs but also design spaces where we can better accommodate small-group instruction within the laboratory environment,” Professor of Chemistry and Department Chair Jeffrey A. Rood said. “Combined with our existing laboratory instrumentation, this project will give our students a state-of-the-art facility in which to learn.”
Dr. Schaeffer is a beloved member of the Etown community and a passionate teacher, mentor, and researcher. He joined the chemistry faculty as an assistant professor in 1976 and was promoted to full professor in 1991. Dr. Schaeffer served as department chair from 1989-93. He is the first holder of the A.C. Baugher Endowed Chair in Chemistry, earning emeritus status in 2009.
“I thought it appropriate to use this opportunity to acknowledge in a tangible way the countless personal, professional, and social interactions during my 47 years at the College,” Dr. Schaeffer said. “I particularly wanted to recognize those interactions involving students who have been in my classes and/or have conducted undergraduate research with me.”
The project, which is scheduled to begin in late spring 2023, is also supported by contributions from the George I. Alden Trust and individual donors.
Learn more about giving to academic programs at Elizabethtown College.