One of the pleasures I had at the HUUmanists' yearly meeting a the 2013 UUA General Assembly was naming David Schafer our President Emeritus. David has been a friend and mentor for many years and I am personally grateful for all he has given the HUUmanists Assocation, including the years he spent as president from 2003 - 2010 and his on-going service on our Board.

Here is a David's abbreviated biography:

David Schafer is a retired physiologist living in Hamden, CT with his wife June.  Pre-Humanist phase:  Raised fundamentalist Christian.  In adolescence immersed in the major religions, texts in original languages.  Other supporting skills: mathematics, music.  1948 B.A., English major, history minor; to graduate school, Univ Minnesota, English 1948-51 TA, Robert Penn Warren, Interp. Poetry; also medieval English, Classics, philosophy esp. of science. 1951 major shift to sciences (TA physiology; adv. physics/mathematics/chemistry) and Humanism (at Minneapolis First Unitarian Society: music committee chair, composer, pianist).  1957 instructor of physiology; 1959 Ph.D.  1958-1963 NY Univ, physiology, instructor to assistant professor (also translator/editor, complete translations, two Russian physiology journals).   Asia: 1963-66 (Fulbright) Prof., Physiol. and Biophysics, Calcutta Univ, India, concurrent appointmt to conduct basic cholera research, the Johns Hopkins Center for Medical Research and Training.  1966-68 to Rockefeller Foundation (RF), Bangkok, Thailand, as acting physiology chair, new medical school, Mahidol University.  RF also supported two years cholera resch and six Bengali PG students as TAs.  Also in India and Thailand, adv. study in Hinduism and Buddhism.  USA: 1968-99 US Veterans Administration (VA), PI, cholera resch; teaching; admin first, 1968-74, in Minneapolis and 1974- , then to W Haven (CT) VA/Yale University.  1977 Acting Assoc. Chief of Staff for Research, W Haven (CT) VA (one year).  Co-founded Humanist Assn. of CT; president 1989-99.  Humanist Institute: graduated 4th class; board member (2000- ); co-mentor 9th  class.  1999 retired VA.  Board member: Amer. Humanist Assn. (1999-2001); ACLU-CT (1999-2009); Unitarian Universalist Humanists (HUUmanists) (1998- ), president, 2003-10.  Currently consulting editor, The Humanist.  Publications and lectures: 50+ articles, uncounted lectures on research and many other topics, from Islam to Humanism.