Retirement Afternoon Tea for Michael Coper
Friday 24 February 2017
Michael Coper is about to retire and become Emeritus Professor Coper. The
notion of Michael retiring puzzled me, so I did some research into the concept.
I looked up the dictionary definition. It said that it involves replacing the wornout Bridgestones on one’s car to make it safe to drive. I contemplated, for a
moment, how that might fit in with the career phase that Michael is about to
enter, but then realised my spelling mistake and found a different dictionary.
This one told me that retire is a verb, describing the sensation of getting weary
and worn out all over again. This also doesn’t match my understanding of why
it is that people move into retirement. I consulted further
Defined correctly, retire means to withdraw, go away, retreat, or to voluntarily
end one’s innings. But, again, this doesn’t seem to fit Michael’s situation. I can
no sooner imagine Michael Coper retreating or going away than I can Michael
not taking a photograph of this event this afternoon.
So, it is not clear to me why we are gathered here this afternoon. Michael is
not going to retire in any of the senses of that term that I have been able to
find.
Perhaps, instead, a better way to describe it is to say that Michael is about to
undergo a metamorphosis, to emerge from the chrysalis of regular academic
life as a magnificent emeritus butterfly, flitting around the garden of
knowledge, cross-pollinating new ideas, and sipping the nectar of true
academic freedom.
I’d be willing to bet that no-one has ever described Michael as a butterfly, but
in this world of alternative facts and post-everything, I think it is a metaphor
worth hanging onto.
It is, I know, accepted practice when giving a speech at a colleague’s farewell
to spend time presenting a synopsis of their contribution to the workplace,
picking out highlights and stepping lightly over other matters. Sometimes this
is done to enlighten the person’s colleagues, who may have been, up to that
moment, quite unaware of what it is that the soon-to-be retiree actually did.
And sometimes it is done to remind the person in question, in case they have
either forgotten or have been putting out a different – usually more flattering
– version of their reality.
But in Michael’s case, neither of these descriptions applies. Certainly, there is
no one in this room who needs to be reminded of the immensity and
transformative value of Michael’s contribution to this College, to the
University, and to the discipline of legal education nationally and
internationally. And, in any event, so much has already been said at the three,
four – how many is it? – previous events.
Instead, I want to point to three aspects of Michael’s contribution, and I will do
this by sharing with you three pieces of Coper wisdom that I have collected
over the years Pithy pieces of perspicacious advice. Reflective ruminations.
All delivered off the cuff, but all worth preserving for future reference.
No. 1 : “Everything you say is valid because it’s what you think”. Today, there
is something vaguely Trumpian about that statement, but that is not what
Michael intended. Rather, this observation reflects one core characteristics
that Michael brought to his Deanship – the idea that we all should be heard,
and we all have contributions to make to this community of academic and
professional staff.
No. 2 – “Whatever happens, it happens for the best”. There is something
Panglossian about this, and it flies in the face of a considerable amount of hard
empirical evidence. But again, it points to another feature of Michael’s
contribution – his unquenched and unquenchable optimism and his ability to
see only the silver lining, not the dark cloud.
No. 3 – “I don’t like publicity – I’m really a shy person” – again, there is a slight
problem here in matching the statement with the factual evidence. I guess the
point to take from this statement is either that Michael was deluded, or that
he has always been prepared to encourage others to step into the limelight
and to get credit for their contributions and achievements.
So Michael, we gather here this afternoon to celebrate your time as member
of our community, to say thank you (again), and we do this in the knowledge
and hope that in your role as Magnificent Emeritus Butterfly you will continue
to be a vital force in this College.
A toast to Michael.