E-mail this pageMathematics Faculty - Dr. David P. Schawe, (1933-1999)
Dr. David Schawe died on November 23, 1999 at his home on Rand Hill, Morrisonville, NY. Dr. Schawe was a member of the Mathematics Department faculty from 1969 until his retirement in 1995. For more than half of that period, he also served as an adjoint member of the fledgling Department of Computer Science. He is remembered as a large man with a deep voice, a principled man with deep convictions, a perfectionist, a singer, a Texan with a ten gallon hat.
Dr. David Schawe died on November 23, 1999 at his home on Rand Hill, Morrisonville, NY. Dr. Schawe was a member of the Mathematics Department faculty from 1969 until his retirement in 1995. For more than half of that period, he also served as an adjoint member of the fledgling Department of Computer Science. He is remembered as a large man with a deep voice, a principled man with deep convictions, a perfectionist, a singer, a Texan with a ten gallon hat.
Dr. Schawe pioneered the use of computer technology in Statistics lectures, and he could be seen trundling his TI Graphics machine from his office down to Hudson Hall lecture hall 106. In the 1970's, there was virtually no usable software for this purpose, and Schawe spent countless weekend hours creating programs in BASIC computer language to support his needs.
He didn't like mistakes, his own or other's, and periodically the weekend quiet was broken on the second floor of Hudson Hall with the phrase "OH, YOU KLUTZ!" when he discovered that he had made another programming error.
In his later years, Dr. Schawe suffered with multiple health problems. His death was "not unexpected". He is survived by his wife Barbara (1216 Rand Hill Rd, Morrisonville NY, 12962), his mother, a sister, two daughters and a son, and three grandchildren who were the light of his later life.
All those who remember Dr. Schawe are invited to submit recollections: adjectives, phrases, or paragraphs to describe the man and his life.