Richard Schaeffer '74, chairman of NYMEX Holdings, Inc., and the New York Mercantile Exchange, the world’s largest physical commodity futures exchange and the preeminent trading forum for energy and precious metals, was honored by the University of Maryland with an Alumni of Distinction Award at the Ninth Annual Alumni Association Awards Gala on April 12.

Schaeffer has been an Exchange member and seat-owner since 1981 and led its phenomenally successful Initial Public Offering, which raised an impressive $383.5 million due in large part to his dynamic leadership. In one year he increased NYMEX’s value from $1.6 billion to over $11 billion.

Schaeffer has a history of outstanding career achievements, but he has also expended significant time, treasure and effort to provide leadership for children’s charitable causes. He was recognized as the Chai Lifeline Man of the Year in 2005 and the United Cerebral Palsy’s Distinguished Leader Award in 2006 in honor of his commitment to those causes. Each year he personally hosts a New Year’s Eve party for seriously ill children confined to the pediatrics unit at New York Weill Cornell Medical Center. The event is so popular that kids who were set to go home from the hospital have been known to ask for a delay so they could attend the party.

Recently Schaeffer became more involved with the Smith School by serving on the Board of Visitors. View the photo gallery.