Each semester, Bill Coplin ended his introductory policy studies course in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs the same way. He led his students to the first-floor foyer of Maxwell Hall, gathered them before the iconic statue of George Washington, and had them read aloud the Oath of the Athenian City-State engraved on the wall behind it.

The oath’s closing promise, to “transmit this city not only not less, but greater, better and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us,” was in many ways the mission statement Coplin had been living since he arrived at Syracuse University in 1969 as an associate professor. Over the 56 years that followed, he founded the policy studies undergraduate program, mentored tens of thousands of students, authored more than 115 books and articles, and became one of the most honored and beloved teachers in the University’s history.

Coplin, professor of policy studies and Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence, retired Jan. 1, 2026.

While he sought a quiet exit from a storied career, his legacy lives on in the impact on countless careers, and in the Bill Coplin Policy Studies Support and Experiential Learning Endowed Fund. Through Coplin’s estate, the fund will become permanently endowed, but it can immediately support policy studies students thanks to his initial contribution.

A devoted alumna is helping to build the foundation. Rebecca Edelman ’03 has pledged to match up to $10,000 in donations made to the fund now through the end of March 2026.

“Coplin’s insistence on action over theory and real skills over fluff has shaped every job I’ve held, every pitch I’ve made and every boardroom I’ve entered,” says Edelman, who now leads Caper Associates LLC, an education venture that seeks to address the gap between traditional learning and workforce readiness. “I owe a great deal to this program, and I am proud to carry its purpose and values forward.”

A Different Drummer

Coplin said he has always been an outlier in academia.

“I never followed a strict academic path,” he says, pointing out that he finished his undergraduate degree at Johns Hopkins with a 3.2 GPA before earning a master’s degree and Ph.D. in international relations from American University. He emerged, by his own account, “completely unconstrained by the reality of academia.”

As a professor, he focused on practicality. What skills do students need? What experiences best prepare them for the real world?

He founded the policy studies undergraduate program in 1977 on the premise of those questions and around the belief that students should leave college ready to make a tangible difference. The program required 30 hours of community service, embedded directly into the curriculum.

Coplin never asked his students to be selfless idealists. “I ask students, ‘Do you want to do good or do well?’” he often said. “The answer should be both, but unless you’re Mother Teresa, you should do well first.”

His mantra, “do well, and do good,” became a guiding principle among alumni, who often referred to themselves as “do gooders” as well as “Coplinites.”

Renee Captor ’80 said his teachings served her well as an attorney and nonprofit director. “Skills really do win, and as it turns out, Excel is life,” she says, offering a nod to some of Coplin’s sayings. Another of his favorites: “Life is an aggregation problem.”

Sam Underwood ’11 remembers receiving a less-than-ideal grade and pointed written feedback on an assignment from Coplin.

“That was the first time anyone had told me in an academic setting that, if I was going to be successful, I needed to apply myself rather than just regurgitating the notes I had read from a book,” says Underwood, who now leads one of Ohio’s fastest-growing startups. His message to Coplin: “You did well, and did good yourself.”