Bruce Koppel, Asian studies scholar, dead at 58

By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer

Eminent East-West Center Asian studies scholar Bruce Koppel's notable achievements are as much a legacy as his inspiring attitude toward the debilitating disease that claimed his life.

"Don't look back, and appreciate every day" was Koppel's advice to others diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic laterosis), for which there is no cure. He died Tuesday at The Queen's Medical Center at age 58, six years after being diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

"My husband had a lot of courage," Jessie Koppel said. "He remained dedicated to his work and accepted what had happened to him. Like his work, he prepared himself with his illness so he wouldn't be a burden.

"It was very easy to take care of him," she added. "He always had a smile."

Bruce Koppel, a strong voice in the fight against neuromuscular disease, received the "Courage Award" at the 2001 Muscular Dystrophy Association-Hawai'i Rainbow of Hope Dinner, a benefit for ALS research

Although he had to be fed through a tube, Koppel continued to work five days a week until last December, his wife said.

"He even went to India because he wanted to finish his work," Jessie Koppel added. "When he was home, I would prepare his food for the tube and take him to work. The people at East-West Center were nice, they even set up an alarm at the door to help him use the restroom."

Bruce Koppel, who was born in New Brunswick, N.J., earned a political science degree at Rutgers University, a master's degree in comparative politics at Cornell, and later his Ph.D in rural sociology, also at Cornell.

He joined the East-West Center staff in 1973 as a fellow in the Technology and Development Institute.

During his tenure at East-West Center, Koppel had many lead projects, including "Building New Regional Institutions in Asia-Pacific" with Charles Morrison and the "Globalization Challenge and East Asian Business" with Denis Simon. In 1990, he was named director of the center's Institute for Economic Development and Policy. Koppel was the center's vice president for research and education in 1991-96.

In 1996-98, Koppel taught graduate seminars in Paris on development issues in Asia-Pacific and social change and politics in Southeast Asia.

Services are scheduled for June 15 at Star of the Sea Church. Visitation is from 8:30 to 11 a.m. A memorial service will be held from 11 a.m. to noon followed by a Mass. Burial will be at Diamond Head Memorial Park.

Koppel is survived by his wife of 31 years; son, Eli,of New York; and sister, Frances of Los Angeles.