A Tribute to Bob Copeland by Nadine Farid

Here's the full text of that article about Robert Copeland from the DePauw Magazine.

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A Tribute to Bob Copeland by Nadine Farid

DePauw graduates of generations past are renowned for their generosity. Yet few recent DePauw alumni have had the opportunity to not only benefit from an alum’s thoughtful gift to the school but also make the close acquaintance of that alum. Those of us who were fortunate enough to receive the Copeland Scholarship to DePauw, established by 1937 graduate Robert V. “Bob” Copeland, had that rare opportunity.

Mr. Copeland, who passed away on August 12, came to DePauw in the footsteps of his two older brothers. He was by all accounts the quintessential DePauw student—intelligent, friendly, heavily involved in student life and dedicated to DePauw sports, playing basketball and football and lettering twice. His fondness for the school and his experience there is evident in his early career as an educator as well as in his exemplary generosity to the school.

An Indiana boy, having attended the former Valley Mills High (now part of Decatur Central High School) near where he was raised in Indianapolis, Mr. Copeland moved to my hometown, Lebanon, Indiana, close to his retirement from Eli Lilly & Company in the 1970s. He and his wife, Josephine, lost their son Ronald in childhood; Josephine also passed away prematurely. The Copeland Scholarship, now in the names of Robert and Josephine Copeland in memory of their son, was established to provide recipients with the opportunity to attend DePauw that Ronald Copeland never had. Mr. Copeland specifically conditioned the scholarship to be received by students from the small town of Lebanon, thereby truly giving a unique opportunity to many a student who would have not otherwise been able to attend DePauw.

It is telling of Bob Copeland’s generous spirit that he decided to fund the scholarship prior to his death so that he could meet its recipients himself. I was the first recipient of the scholarship to graduate from DePauw and can recall vividly the first time I met Mr. Copeland: how my initial nervousness was placated immediately by his kind smile, how he spoke humbly, how he instructed me in the joys and benefits of golf (a game at which, unfortunately, my skills are still lacking). Mr. Copeland had a genuinely engaging personality and a sense of humor that rivaled most. His affection for DePauw was contagious; listening to him talk about the school was listening to the voice of opportunity. College, he seemed to say, was what you make of it, but DePauw gives you the chance to make it an unforgettable experience.

Knowing Mr. Copeland made me want to succeed, to try and live up to all that the scholarship offered. That feeling has lasted in the nearly ten years since my graduation from DePauw, as has my affection for the school—something which has extended through my family, as both of my siblings are recent DePauw graduates. These experiences are shared by the family of Copeland Scholars. Drew Powell ’98, a successful actor, has two siblings who also attended DePauw. On receiving the scholarship, Drew notes, “The scholarship helped me to appreciate the true meaning of the word community. I was then and continue to be affected by Bob Copeland's act of generosity. It made me proud to be from a community, Lebanon, that cared about its young people, and it made me excited to enter a community, DePauw, that people loved so much. I hope that, wherever he is, Mr. Copeland can see the legacy that his stewardship has produced in the lives of the Copeland scholars.” And James C. Roach ’97, a Senior Zoning Planner in Bloomington, Indiana, echoes the thoughts of all of us when he notes, “Robert Copeland's generosity opened many opportunities to me. Without his scholarship, I would not have been able to attend DePauw. I would not have received the same scholastic or cultural experiences at any other university.”

Those of us who were fortunate enough to know Bob Copeland are saddened by his passing. We embrace his vision and endeavor to build upon it. Most of all, we remain truly grateful to this warm, wonderful person who has given us so much.