University Provost Robin Morgan: “Leon Campbell was a very well-known microbiologist, and he knew my mentors from both graduate school and my postdoctoral experience. From the moment I arrived at UD back in 1985, he was interested in my work and immensely supportive of what I was trying to accomplish in agriculture. I hope I have never forgotten how important that support of a new faculty member was for me. Over the years that Leon Campbell served as provost, he transformed UD into a major research university while preserving and enhancing its rich teaching mission.”

Dan Rich, professor emeritus of public policy and administration and UD provost from 2002-2009: “The University of Delaware today bears the academic imprint of Leon Campbell’s leadership as provost in the 1970s and 1980s. During his tenure, UD enrollment more than doubled, dozens of new undergraduate and graduate programs were launched, research productivity and funding were increased, and public service programs were expanded. Two new colleges were created that today are the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment and the Biden School of Public Policy and Administration. The Honors Program, now the Honors College, was launched while he was provost. His most profound impact was on the faculty. His highest priority was to strengthen the faculty. He raised standards for faculty appointments, promotions and tenure decisions. He provided support for new programs to improve instruction, expand research, encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and build new community partnerships. Under Leon Campbell’s leadership, UD became a comprehensive university with a wide array of areas of excellence.”

Gerald Turkel, professor emeritus of sociology: “Leon Campbell made vital contributions to the University of Delaware Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (UD-AAUP) during the late 1990s and early 2000s. In discussions with the UD-AAUP leadership, Dr. Campbell proposed establishing a new position that he argued would serve to enforce the collective bargaining agreement between UD-AAUP and the University. The position, contract maintenance officer, would have the responsibility of interpreting the collective bargaining agreement for UD-AAUP, collecting data on key features of the agreement such as distribution of salary adjustments and serving as the union’s contact person when disciplinary investigations were initiated by the University against faculty members. The UD-AAUP’s leadership agreed with Dr. Campbell’s proposal, and he became the first contract maintenance officer. Dr. Campbell also served as a member of UD-AAUP’s contract negotiating team during several contract negotiations. He provided both the UD-AAUP’s bargaining team and the University’s team with the historical background on many of the issues under negotiation and often helped to provide common ground for resolving them. With his wit and direct manner, Dr. Campbell saw his participation in the UD-AAUP as a feature of his continuing service and commitment to the University of Delaware.”

About Leon Campbell

Born in Panhandle, Texas, in 1927, he served in the U.S. Navy from 1944-46, where he headed the bacteriology section and was a bacteriology instructor in the U.S. Naval Hospital at Long Beach California. After his service in the Navy, he earned three degrees from the University of Texas at Austin: a bachelor’s degree in bacteriology and chemistry in 1949, followed by master’s and doctoral degrees in bacteriology and biochemistry in 1950 and 1952, respectively. After completing his doctoral dissertation, he was a postdoctoral research fellow of the National Microbiological Institute at the University of California at Berkeley from 1952-54.

Dr. Campbell served on the faculty at Washington State University from 1954-59 and then went to the U.S. Public Health Service at Western Reserve University, where he was an associate professor of microbiology and senior research fellow from 1959-62. He joined the University of Illinois in 1962 as a full professor, becoming department head in 1963 and director of the School of Life Sciences in 1971.

The author or coauthor of more than 100 scientific papers, one manual and editor of three books, Dr. Campbell received many honors, including the 24th Pasteur Award of the Illinois Society for Microbiology, in recognition of his work with students, research in bacteriology and his professional contributions.

Dr. Campbell served as president of the American Society for Microbiology, an organization where he held numerous offices. He also served on the Microbiology Training Committee of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and the National Research Council of the National Academy of Science. In 1981, he was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

He was elected in 1983 to honorary membership in the American Society for Microbiology, the highest membership recognition conferred by the society, and he was one of only 46 honorary members at that time. In 1988, UD’s College of Engineering’s RISE (Resources to Insure Successful Engineers) Program named Dr. Campbell “educator of the year,” and the Center for Teaching Effectiveness honored him for his role in establishing and supporting the center. In 1991, he was elected to a second three-year term on the board of directors of the Center for Research Libraries (CRL).

Biographical information and images for this article were provided by the University of Delaware Archives and Records Management.