Steven “Doc” Schaeffer is a salt-of-the-earth type. A Pennsylvania-German hailing from the manufacturing heartland of America, it’s no surprise what he brought to CSU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering: a no-nonsense attitude, perfectionism in his quality of work, and a commitment to getting his students the experience they need to work in industry.

For more than 34 years, Schaeffer taught industrial practices at institutions including Adams State, the Beet Sugar Development Foundation and Front Range Community College. The lion’s share was spent at CSU – 29 and a half years in mechanical engineering and what is now construction management.

Prior to his career in higher education, Schaeffer worked as a patternmaker, foundryman, tool and die maker, and manufacturing manager.

Building the Engineering Manufacturing Education Center

Schaeffer arrived to the mechanical engineering department in 2001 just as his predecessor at the Engineering Manufacturing Education Center (EMEC) was leaving. Fondly referred to as “the M.E. shop”, the EMEC operated on a shoestring budget as an undergraduate teaching lab for the 6-week 100 credit course, MECH 100.

Schaeffer saw a world of opportunity and two clear priorities: Grow the shop, and cement the need for hands-on learning.

Over two decades, he grew the 2,600-square foot-facility three-fold, adding space, capabilities and equipment that transformed the manufacturing arm of the mechanical engineering program. He brought hands-on practices out of industry and into classrooms to help make the department what it is today.

“Doc helped us transform our engineering program from primarily classroom-based to a focus on hands-on, project-based education,” said Allan Kirkpatrick, professor emeritus and former mechanical engineering department head. “Every year he’s added more capability to our engineering program. He is responsible for the transition of the shop space to a high value manufacturing laboratory. Steve was my first hire, and one that I’m so proud of.”

Schaeffer is making some final contributions to the shop as a parting gift, adding a modern welding lab, metrology lab, Scotchman Ironworker, and a vertical injection molding machine. The expansion will support advanced manufacturing, senior design projects, and new teaching opportunities along with introducing punch stamping and heavy metal shear and break capabilities.

A grateful farewell

Schaeffer stays connected to his students.

“I follow what these students are doing now and it’s incredible,” he said. “There is no glamour associated with this job, but by golly, every once in a while you hear that you made a big impact on a student’s life and it doesn’t get much better than that.”

When alumni Kyle Mauri heard of the retirement, he mailed Schaeffer a letter and MECH 200 textbook for him to sign – a book Mauri still uses to this day as a Process and Tooling Engineer at HP Inc.

“Doc was an amazing professor; he pulled no punches and told it like it was. His enthusiasm for teaching sparked an interest in manufacturing technology and gave me useable skills that helped me get my first internship, second internship, and my first industry job,” Mauri said. “These are skills that I will be able to continue developing for the rest of my life. It’s hard to put a price on something like that.”

Alumni Bryan Woods, Quality Manager at Stolle Machinery Company LLC, said the most valuable things he learned during his time at CSU were all learned in Schaeffer’s shop. Current student Caroline Van Tiggelen said the shop is where she developed her confidence to be an engineer, crediting it as the ultimate creativity and problem-solving space. Undergraduate Labs Manager Steve Johnson shared his praise as well, crediting Schaeffer with providing students the skills they need to be a machinist – safety, attention to detail, and working through technical adversity.

Schaeffer’s course history includes engineering graphics, electricity and electronics, power and energy, product and industrial design, welding and fabrication, metal casting, machining, manufacturing, materials testing and evaluation, construction, safety, and more.