It was at my first COPIS meeting in the 90s that I was befriended by a few COPIS scholars. First and foremost, was Dick, as he preferred to be called. I always had a hard time calling him by his first name. To me, he was an esteemed mentor. Dick Neville was an intellect. His facility with the English language astounded me. In the beginning, I would simply be mesmerized by his elegant phrases, the varied ways he described things, and his overall command of the English language. His insights into education, in general, and supervision, in particular, were amazing and inspiring. Although it took me a while, at first, to fully understand a profound insight he made or even a joke (as I tend to be quite literal), his patience, generosity, and willingness to guide me professionally stand, for me, as formative influences in my career in higher education.
Specifically, he encouraged me to think more deeply about my historical scholarship in the field of supervision and, in effect, broadened my horizons to use that history to make more practical and profound connections with the important work of the present as well as the world of practice. On a personal level, it was his idea that led to our coedited volume, Educational Supervision: Perspectives, Issues, and Controversies published in 1997, in which many COPIS members contributed: Bob Alfonso, Bob Anderson, Francis Duffy, Gerald Firth, Ben Harris, Helen Hazi, Joyce Killian, Bob Krakewski, Tom McGreal, Jim Nolan, Ed Pajak, Barbara Pavan, Tom Sergiovanni, John Smyth, Karolyn Snyder, Bob Starratt, Saundra Tracy, and Duncan Waite - quite a line-up, right?!!
Above all, Dick became a close friend and confidant. He was someone who freely gave of his time to me advising me on a number of professional matters and ventures. I most cherish the time we spent alone working on projects, but also the time he stayed at my home overnight in NYC where he met my family, and brought a doll to my daughter who was about 8 at the time. To this day, she remembers that gift, not so much for the doll itself, but she fondly remembers Dick's warm smile and genuine hug as he presented it to her. Dr. Richard F. Neville was a scholar par excellence and a warm, kind human being. I was shocked at his premature passing. I miss him very much and think of him often.