IN MEMORIAN
Alumnus, faculty member and professor emeritus Alex Koper passed away in his Los Angeles home on December 4, 2004. He was eighty-seven.
Considered by many to be a legend in the field of prosthodontics, Koper began his dental career at USC, obtaining his doctoral dental degree in 1942. Following graduation, he joined the U.S. Air Force, serving in the South Pacific during World War II.
In 1962, Koper earned a certificate in prosthodontics from the School of Dentistry and five years later joined the faculty. Over the next three decades Koper left an indelible mark on the school.
Koper was instrumental in the creation of the advanced prosthodontics program—previously the School of Dentistry offered prosthodontics training through the office of continuing education—and was named the program’s first director in 1969. During his tenure, the program gained national recognition becoming the model for many accredited prosthodontics programs. Koper also expanded the school's office of continuing education, creating the USC International Continuing Dental Education Program. In addition, he served as director of the USC Odontic Seminar for forty years.
However, Koper is best remembered by those who knew him for his remarkable passion for teaching.
"The first three words Alex Koper said to me were 'It's all wrong'," said Gary Harmatz, Class of 1969 and Koper's long-time private practice partner. "Now those words can be quite deflating to a 22 year-old dental student who was somewhat full of himself. The greatness of Alex Koper were the next four words he said to me, 'Let me show you.' And he did for the next 30 years."
A member of numerous professional organizations, Koper was the founder, president and Fellow of the American Prosthodontic College, Fellow of the International Prosthodontic College, Fellow of the Academy of Prosthodontics, and founder of the Academy of Esthetic Dentistry. He also served as president for the Los Angeles Dental Society, California Prosthodontic Society and the Pacific Coast Society for Prosthodontics.
"He was the program director when I came here. In fact, he was one of the reasons I chose USC advanced prosthodontics," says Terence Donovan, acting director of advanced prosthodontics and co-chair of the division of primary oral health care. "Alex was a giant in the field of prosthodontics. He was a master clinician, but even more remarkable was his ability to make his patients feel at ease. Alex taught us that the personal relationship with the patient was as important, or more so, than the technical work of prosthodontics."
Koper is survived by his wife Corrine; sisters, Edna Weiss and Ruth Cheslaw; three children, Alex Koper II, Lisa Gluck and Claudia Schwartz; and seven grandchildren, Alex Koper III, Rose Koper, Hannah Koper, Madeline Schwartz,
Matthew Schwartz, Sara Gluck and Joseph Gluck. |
