In Memoriam: Joan Metcalf Schaefer, 1921-2017

Joan Metcalf Schaefer, who served as dean of women for 37 years at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, died at her home in Los Angeles on September 3. She was 95 years old.

Dean Schaefer joined the Office of Student Affairs in 1955 and remained there until her official retirement in 1992. Upon retirement, she maintained an office on campus as dean emerita and continued to take students from the university to International Summer School at the University of Cambridge in England. A garden at the University of Cambridge is named in her honor for contributions to the university’s summer programs over the course of a half century.

In 1993, the University of Southern California set up the Joan M. Schaefer Scholarship program. Proceeds from the program’s endowment of $2 million provide financial aid to 8 to 12 students each year. More than 300 students have received the scholarships since 1993.

Dean Schaefer was a native of Ohio. She earned a bachelor’s degree in music and English at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.