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March 30, 2001
CONTACT: Linda McCandless, llm3@cornell.edu, 315-787-2417
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Dr. George A. Schaefers
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GENEVA, NY-Dr. George A. Schaefers, 72, Glass Factory Bay, Geneva, died on Thursday, March 28, 2001 in Sarasota, Florida. Schaefers was a professor emeritus of entomology at Cornell University's New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva.
A memorial service will be held at some date in the future in Geneva at Trinity Church. The family requests that contributions be made to the American Cancer Society in lieu of flowers.
"Even though he was retired, this is still a terrible loss to his many friends and scientific colleagues around the world," commented Dr. Wendell Roelofs, chair, department of entomology, at the Geneva Station. "Not only did George contribute heavily to the literature on dealing with insects that attack small fruits in New York and the northeastern United States, but he was a major figure on the international agricultural scene," continued Roelofs. "His most recent assignment had been with the Consortium for International Crop Protection (CICP) where he served as its director from 1993 to the end of 1998. He actually worked closely with CICP for almost 20 years before becoming its director. During that period, he made frequent trips abroad, especially to developing countries to assist them in developing reasonable and responsible crop protection programs against insects and diseases."
Schaefers came to the Geneva Station in 1958 as an assistant professor of entomology after being awarded his doctorate degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He was considered an expert on aphids as vectors of plant diseases. He and his students expanded their research interests to include work on other pest species of small fruits, such as mites, tarnished plant bug, leafhoppers, and leafrollers. He was recognized nationally for his studies in the laboratory in which he electronically recorded aphid feeding and salivation as a means of determining exactly how viruses are transmitted during feeding.
He was promoted to associate professor in 1962 and to full professor in 1973. In 1983, he served as chair of the department of entomology and remained in that position until 1991. While chair, he brought the department through a difficult period during which six of the 12 faculty members retired and had to be replaced. The new faculty were instrumental in helping to maintain the department as one of the finest entomology units in the country and in bringing new areas of expertise to the department to create the continuum from cutting-edge research to extension activities. Schaefers retired with the rank of professor emeritus in 1993.
Schaefers' interest in the field of international agriculture began to broaden in the mid-1970s. He went on a sabbatical leave in 1974 for a year to work at the Nigerian International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. His work with international agricultural organizations, such as CICP and AID took him to such countries as Puerto Rico, Nigeria, Colombia, Zaire, Tunisia, and Senegal. After stepping down as chair of the department in Geneva, he was awarded a one-year Rockefeller Foundation Environmental Research Fellowship in International Agriculture. He went to sub-Saharan East Africa and studied traditional crop protection among small farmers.
In addition to his activities at the Geneva Station and on the national and international scene, Schaefers was well known in the Geneva community. He was a member of Trinity Church, the Seneca Yacht Club, the Rotary Club of Geneva, and the Finger Lakes Forum.
Surviving are his wife, Kathy, and three children: Cheryl Lynn (Ben) Greene, Stephanie Gwen, and Richard Kent (Amy). He was pre-deceased by two brothers.
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