His teaching specialties are broadcast journalism, media writing and immigration issues. He is a co-founder of the Cross-Border Issues Group, a collaboration between UNM and Mexican faculty and students who travel in teams to immigration hot spots to produce journalistic and academic reports. Schaefer earned a B.A. in English from the University of Notre Dame, and master’s and doctoral degrees in communication from the University of Utah. He was a professional journalist and interactive videodisc writer before becoming an academic.