Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) President B. James Dawson took time during the Spring Commencement exercises on May 7 to celebrate the career of Dr. John Copeland, who is retiring from the University after nearly 40 years of service.
Copeland, the longest tenured faculty member at LMU, served as macebearer during the commencement exercises. He joined the faculty on September 1, 1976, and dedicated his career to supporting LMU’s mission through exemplary teaching, scholarship and service. Dawson announced that the LMU Board of Trustees has honored Copeland by bestowing on him the title of Professor Emeritus of Biology.
Throughout his tenure at LMU, Copeland has been engaged in discovery research and conservation biology in the state of Tennessee and the adjoining regions of Southwest Virginia and Southeast Kentucky. He has conducted work with mammals, amphibians and native plants. Copeland capped his career with a grant to survey freshwater sponges in Tennessee. In that study he discovered and named a new genus.
Copeland mentored many students, providing opportunities for students to join him in field work and supervising their research projects throughout his career. Moreover, he counseled them as they entered the workforce or continued their education. He was awarded LMU’s Houston Award for teaching excellence in 2005.
Copeland served the University in numerous ways outside of the classroom and laboratory as well. He served as program director for the Wildlife and Fisheries Biology program and was chair of the natural sciences department for five years. He established a student chapter of the Wildlife Society at LMU and aligned the curriculum so students could be certified as wildlife biologists through that society. Copeland also served on the University’s promotion and multi-year contract committee and the general education committee.
Lincoln Memorial University is a values-based learning community dedicated to providing educational experiences in the liberal arts and professional studies. The main campus is located in Harrogate. For more information about the undergraduate and graduate programs available at LMU, contact the Office of Admissions at 423-869-6280 or e-mail at admissions@LMUnet.edu.
