Background
She was born on June 18, 1915 in Richmond, Virginia.
She was born on June 18, 1915 in Richmond, Virginia.
She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics in 1936. She studied at the University of Chicago and completed her Doctor of Philosophy in mathematics in 1942. Her Doctor of Philosophy thesis was in the area of projective differential geometry.
When she was completing her studies at Chicago, she met Richard Schafer, who was also completing his Doctor of Philosophy in mathematics at Chicago.
In 1942 Turner married Richard Schafer, after both had completed their doctorates.
She received a full scholarship to study at the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia. She was the only female mathematics major. At the time, women were not allowed in the campus library.
She taught at high school for three years to earn money for her higher studies.
After completing her Doctor of Philosophy, she taught at Connecticut College, Swarthmore College, the University of Michigan and several other institutions. In 1962 she joined the faculty of Wellesley College as a full professor
Her husband Richard was working at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As a teacher, Alice especially reached out to students who had difficulties with or were afraid of mathematics, by designing special classes for them.
She was elected as the second President of the association from 1973 to 1975.
Schafer was named Helen Day Gould Professor of Mathematics at Wellesley in 1980. She retired from Wellesley in 1980. However, she remained there for two more years during which she was chairman of Wellesley"s Affirmative Action Program.
After retiring from Wellesley, she taught at Simmons College and was also involved in the management program in the Radcliffe College Seminars.
However, she still wanted to teach. She became professor of mathematics at Marymount University until a second retirement in 1996.
She was one of the founding members of the Association for Women in Mathematics in 1971. In 1971, Schafer was one of the founding members of the Association for Women in Mathematics.