Remembering Dr. Roger Schauer

Faculty, staff, and alumni of the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences (SMHS) are saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Roger Schauer, a graduate of the SMHS and former director of the School’s Family Medicine Clerkship and Rural Opportunities in Medical Education (ROME) program.

Schauer passed away in Hettinger, N.D., on Aug. 29, 2026, at age 82.

“He was a giant in North Dakota rural family medicine,” said Dr. Charles Christianson, who worked alongside Schauer in the SMHS Department of Family & Community Medicine. “He had a big happy family, many friends, and a great sense of humor. He was a great colleague and friend when I came to the UND med school in 2002.”

An award-winning physician-educator, Schauer was named North Dakota’s Family Physician of the Year in 1990 and given the North Dakota Medical Association’s Physician Community & Professional Services Award in 2014.

“Those of us who were around the school during his tenure know his tremendous impact on medical education for the state,” added Dr. Joshua Ranum, who graduated from SMHS in 2008 and practices at West River Health Services in Hettinger, N.D.

“He will always be a giant to me, as he taught the Family Medicine Clerkship when I was a medical student and then served as my mentor when I transitioned into his teaching role at the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences in 2014,” added Dr. Kamille Sherman, co-director of the ROME Program. “He loved his family, his profession, and his teaching.”

A full obituary is available at Evanson Jensen Funeral Home online.