William “Bill” Campbell, Ph.D., former dean of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, still remembered when a professor at Oregon State University encouraged him to go to graduate school.
“That single, small act changed my life,” he said during his Oct. 21 seminar talk to faculty and staff at the School.
Since then, Campbell has had a decades-long career in academic leadership. He served as the School’s dean from 1993 to 2003. He was previously the dean of the Auburn School of Pharmacy and president of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.
Campbell’s talk focused on the importance of mentoring through the lens of his personal experiences in academia. He said while the professor who encouraged him to go to graduate school was a critical moment in his career, mentorship requires a long-term investment.
“I’m convinced that each one of you are having that impact daily,” he told the audience. “I’m sure none of us realize it, because we don’t actually know when it happens.”
During Campbell’s time at UNC, the School’s rank rose from No. 15 to No. 2 in the U.S. News and World Report rankings. Several other big changes in the School happened during his tenure, such as the construction of Kerr Hall and the expansion of the graduate curriculum. He’s also been a consultant for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Campbell said being a mentor is more than just being an instructor or a coach, but instead involves commitment and a holistic skill set. He shared his experiences with two instructors from his early- and mid- academic career who exemplified what a mentor should be. He said both these faculty invested an extraordinary amount of time and energy into his success.
“They were taking a big risk on me,” he said. “They were putting me in positions where their reputation was at stake just as much as my future.”
Campbell is now retired and spends his time in the mountains of Washington state. The Bill and Karen Campbell Faculty Mentoring Program, which has a $1 million endowment, was designed in his name to help support and retain new faculty. He said he thought the School’s program was the best of its kind in the United States.
“We’re honored to be named in it,” he said. “It’s something we’ve felt strongly about our whole lives.”