Sedona Times Publishing and Sedona Eye columnist, Mel Copen

Sedona AZ (March 14, 2012) – A citizen of the world who made a difference – to his family, to his friends, to his colleagues and protégés, to his community, and to the globe.

Dr. Melvyn R. Copen, 74, died on March 12, 2012 in Sedona Arizona following two challenging open-heart surgeries and subsequent complex health issues. Despite a valiant and unwavering fight to remain with us, he passed away peacefully surrounded by family. A citizen of the world, Dr. Copen held international positions in academia, industry, and government, demonstrating a genius for understanding the importance of culture in leading institutions and businesses to change and grow.

Melvyn R. (Mel) Copen was born and grew up in upstate New York. As a youth, he was one of the youngest ever to become an Eagle Scout. He was a Reserve Officer in the Army and received a commendation for excellence from the Army Transportation Corps. At the age of 16, Mel Copen attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Management in 1958. The following year, he was awarded a Masters Degree from M.I.T. and went on to earn a Doctorate in International Business Administration from Harvard University School of Business Administration following service in the United States Army.

While completing his degree at Harvard University, Dr. Copen journeyed to India where he had two daughters with his then-wife Linda (Kopans) Copen. During his five-year tenure there, he helped establish a business university in Ahmadabad which remains vibrant today. From that professional foundation, Dr. Copen went on to amass an impressive resume which included both domestic and international professional contributions.

Dr. Copen was a well-regarded leader in international business education. He helped found and manage graduate schools of business, not only in India but in Japan, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Ecuador, and the United States. He was a Professor, Dean, Vice President, and President at prominent academic institutions including the Harvard Business School; the Indian Institute of Management; the University of Houston; Georgia State University; Babson College; the Central American Institute of Business Administration (INCAE); the International University of Japan; American Intercontinental University; and Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management in Phoenix. He was committed to excellence and dedicated much of his life to assisting future generations in their pursuit of excellence. He guided those he mentored to make discernible positive impacts in the world, and his legacy is one which will be carried forward by all who were privileged enough to have known and learned from him.

Dr. Copen was not only an educator and administrator. Throughout his distinguished career, he established several businesses in the private sector. He worked to support international economic, political, and social development through agencies such as the Ford Foundation, the Council of Brazilian University Presidents, USAID, UNESCO, USIS, and the Peace Corps, in addition to numerous other corporations and governments. He served on a committee to the United Nations and, in industry, he worked in various manufacturing positions with the General Electric Company, served as Director of Strategic Planning and Economic Analysis for Westinghouse Corporation, and as Director of International Planning for Gould, Incorporated.

In government, Dr. Copen was honored to be selected for an esteemed White House Fellowship. He was a White house Fellow with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and then stayed on with that organization for several years, performing various senior-level management positions. A dedicated public servant, he served on a myriad of business, arts, foundation, and civic boards. Dr. Copen was committed to bettering his world – both on a global and a local level – and actively assisted others in doing so in a concerted effort, right up until the date of his death.

Dr. Copen wrote prolifically and was published often. He authored numerous articles, books, and case studies related to international business, addressing the adaptation of management practices and new technology to different cultures, cross-cultural relationships, and the development of win-win situations across cultural barriers.

Since he and his wife of twenty years, Beverly Copen, “retired” to Arizona, Dr. Copen wrote bi-weekly commentary for newspapers and websites in Arizona and Georgia and served on the boards of various community business and cultural organizations. As President of the Big Park Community Coordinating Council, he headed a consortium of towns around Sedona to develop a regional vision plan. He continued to play tennis, a life-long sport in which he was known for his menacing left-handed serve, and enjoyed hiking through the amazing red rock trails that grace Sedona and the southwestern United States.

An avid world traveler throughout his life, Dr. Copen left few corners of the globe unexplored; he found particular importance in experiencing as many of our State and National Parks as possible and ensured that his children and grandchildren did the same. An award-winning photographer, as is his wife Beverly, Dr. Copen understood the importance of perspective, finding ways to express the potential in what he encountered on his journey. Fortunately, many of his journeys are now memorialized forever in his photographs.

Dr. Copen was a devout husband, father, grandfather, and son. He regularly called and visited his adored mother who turned 97 years old on March 13 of this year. He and Beverly expended great creativity, energy, and effort to ensure that they established and nurtured relationships with their many grandchildren who live around the country, and did so admirably. Mel, as Dr. Copen is known to his family and friends, was loved, respected, and cherished by all who knew him. None, however, treasured him as fully or deeply as did his very dedicated family.

Mel was the “go to” guy for his family, friends, community, and colleagues. His ability to analyze, reason, and act, coupled with his ability to motivate others to do the same, underlain by his kindness and generosity, made him not only rare, but extraordinary and unforgettable. Mel Copen’s mark on this world and on the people who had the honor of knowing him will be indelible and enduring.

Mel is survived by his wife, Beverly Kievman Copen, of Atlanta, Georgia and Sedona, Arizona; his beloved mother, Frieda Zucker of New York; his sister, Gennah Copen (Paul Lind) of Amherst, MA; daughters, Erika Grubbs (Sam Grubbs) of Kingston, ID; Susan Copen Holtey (John Holtey) of Natick, MA; step-children Mark Needle (Carol Jacque) of Miami Beach, FL; Steve Needle (Renee Needle) of Atlanta, GA; and Michele Talka (Jeff Talka) of Tampa, FL; brother- in- law, Jim Goldstein of New York; 9 grandchildren, and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was preceded in death by his sister, Ilona Copen Goldstein, father Sam Copen, and step-father Del Zucker.

A “Celebration of Life” will be held on Friday, March 16, 2012 at 11 AM at the Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley, 100 Meadowlark Drive, with Rabbi Alicia Magal. A second service will be held in New York City on Saturday, March 24, 2012 with details to be posted on www.copencom.com.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be directed to a nonprofit fund established by Dr. and Mrs. Copen to stimulate cultural and economic growth in Sedona area communities. Tax-deductible donations for the “Mel Copen Vision Fund” may be made to the Sedona Village Main Street Partnership, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization, in care of the Thomas Graham Law Office, 50 Courthouse Court, Sedona, Arizona 86351-7425.

For additional information and to read comments posted by readers, visit https://sedonaeye.com/sedona-writer-melvyn-copen-dies published earlier this week.  Mel will be greatly missed and long remembered by those fortunate enough to have known him.

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