Biology professor emeritus John Copenhaver '46 died April 19 of a stroke in the Kendal at Hanover retirement community, according to Marion Copenhaver, his wife of 64 years. John Copenhaver, who was 88 years old, was remembered by colleagues as a sociable professor who was dedicated to teaching undergraduates throughout his 35 years at the College.
John Copenhaver "transformed" the biology department as well as the College itself, according to biology professor Melvin Spiegel.
"I think John was trying to modernize the department at the College," Spiegel said. "He brought it into a new age. We were doing modern genetics and biochemistry research. There was a real transformation in the makeup of the department and the subjects that they taught."
Copenhaver was involved in recruiting students to Dartmouth Medical School, which was undergoing a transition from being a two-year program to a four-year institution, Spiegel said.
Copenhaver also served on several College committees, including the search committee that selected John Kemeny as College president in 1970.
The College had a significantly smaller research emphasis when Copenhaver originally became a professor, according to David Dennison, a former professor of biology who began working with Copenhaver in 1958.
"If you joined the faculty in the time he did, you had to be interested in teaching, because [the College] was not a research institution," Dennison said.
Copenhaver was at the forefront of the movement to combine the zoology and botany departments, Dennison said.
John Copenhaver was also a "very strong supporter" of his students, according to biology professor Roger Sloboda.
"He was totally into undergraduate teaching and was very down to earth, very easy to talk to," Sloboda said.
William Thomas '52 DMS '59, a former student of Copenhaver's, established the John H. Copenhaver, Jr., and William H. Thomas, M.D., 1952 Junior Fellowship in Copenhaver's honor.
The fellowship is awarded to one or two students in the molecular and cellular biology graduate program, according to the DMS 2010 annual report.
Copenhaver's colleagues praised him for his hospitality and efforts to make new faculty members feel comfortable.
"He had this great big old house with kids running all over the place and would have young faculty members invited over," Spiegel recalled. "He was a good colleague, there's no question about it."
Spiegel, Dennison and Sloboda all came during Copenhaver's tenure. Copenhaver was instrumental in recruiting Spiegel and Dennison to work at the College, they said.
"He was very helpful and helped me set up my lab in Silsby Hall," Dennison said. "He sent me maps and diagrams of how it was laid out and helped me get equipment that I needed. Through the years, he has always been a tremendous help and inspiration. He was like a father."
Copenhaver completed his undergraduate education at the College in three years and attended graduate school at the University of Wisconsin.
After leaving medical school, Copenhaver then spent a year at the University of Wisconsin Enzyme Institute before accepting a teaching position at the University of Texas, Houston, Marion Copenhaver said.
In 1953, he "eagerly" accepted a teaching position at the College, and taught biology and biochemistry until his retirement in 1987, according to Marion Copenhaver.
After attending medical school for a year, Copenhaver decided instead to go into teaching, according to Marion Copenhaver.
"He loved teaching and he loved the interactions," she said. "He liked the interaction with the students and being able to have an effect on their futures and guiding them into a field that was appropriate for their interests."
Dennison recalled the motto that Copenhaver had chalked at the top of a blackboard in his laboratory: "The possession of a medical degree does not prevent one from becoming a scientist."
Copenhaver was always searching for students who "thought like researchers," Dennison said.
Those who knew Copenhaver described him as an intelligent man who was greatly respected, Marion Copenhaver said.
"He had a great sense of humor but was quite introspective," she said.
Copenhaver is survived by his wife and five children.
