In addition to providing a stipend and program/research support, an endowed chair represents one of the most prestigious achievements for college faculty members serving at American universities. Wittenberg now has four endowed chair positions.

Nominated by a faculty committee representing six humanities departments, Copeland has been a strong campus advocate for social justice, diversity and the needs of African American students since joining the faculty in 1977.

The first director of Wittenberg’s Common Learning program, Copeland received the Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1995. He is also the primary author and editor of Updating the Dream: Springfield Looks at 2000 and Beyond, and he has published three scholarly books, including And the Poor Get Welfare: The Ethics of Poverty in the United States, Economic Justice: The Ethics of U.S. Economic Policy, and Issues of Justice: Social Structures and Religious Meanings.

In 1989, he was elected to the Springfield City Commission, winning re-election in 1993, 1997 and 2001. He is currently developing a manuscript based on personal ethical reflections on his experience in city politics.

“Dr. Copeland’s long record of significant campus service and leadership is matched by an equally rich array of contributions to socially responsible public policy and governance in Springfield and Clark County,” Bladh said.

Copeland earned a B.A. from MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill., where he was named Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in 1983, his M.Div. from Christian Theological Seminary, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.

Ruth Wray, former member of the Wittenberg Board of Directors, endowed the Kenneth E. Wray Chair in the Humanities not only to honor her husband, but also to recognize the university’s humanities faculty whose work she admired. Both Ruth and Kenneth Wray were members of the Wittenberg University Class of 1937, and they remained active in the community and with the university until their deaths.