Dr. Richard Schulze, Sr. began his practice in diseases and surgery of the eye in Savannah in 1966 after completing nine rigorous years of medical training. A cum laude graduate of Princeton University, he attended medical school at Johns Hopkins before performing his internship in the department of pathology at Johns Hopkins. He was one of only four residents admitted to the prestigious Wilmer Institute of Ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins, widely recognized as the world's premier teaching institution for ophthalmology. He completed fellowship training at the Institute of Ophthalmology, Moorefield's Hospital, University of London, in 1965 before starting private practice.

Dr. Schulze, Sr. is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a member of the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Ophthalmogy, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, the Medical Association of Georgia, the Medical Advisory Committee of the Georgia Department of Public Safety, and is board certified by the American Board of Ophthalmolgy.

Dr. Schulze, Sr. is widely recognized as a leader in the field of cataract surgery, having contibuted many articles to scholarly journals on the subject. Outside of ophthalmology, his interests include boating, fishing, hunting, and rice farming. Dr. Schulze, Sr. reintroduced Carolina Gold rice to the South Carolina lowcountry in 1985, and is currently the only planter of Carolina Gold in the northern hemisphere.