When the Oscar N. Harris Student Union was completed in 2020, it instantly became the central hub for Campbell University’s main campus in Buies Creek. The 115,000-square-foot facility was the result of an ambitious five-year, $100 million Campbell Leads campaign, which also contributed to student scholarships and the general fund.
was the year we thought (hoped) the global pandemic would wind down and we would return to life as we knew before everything changed. As we enter 2022, we realize this isn’t the case. But that doesn’t mean the year didn’t have its silver linings.
Several Campbell traditions did return this past year. Sporting events had crowds again, Homecoming returned and with it a parade and alumni tailgate event. Commencement ceremonies were held outdoors, and incoming freshmen were able to experience their convocation and medal ceremony.
Through the challenges, our students and faculty shined. This Annual Report celebrates the accomplishments of the Campbell community and highlights the instances when Camels stepped up to lead with purpose when needed most.
From January’s Operation Safe Return, the program that ensured the safety of students on campus as they returned from a lengthy holiday break, to the renewal of our 10-year accreditation from SACSCOC, we look look back at the year that was at Campbell University — a year of successes despite the ongoing challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Everything from current enrollment to annual giving numbers and our accreditation status across our schools and academic programs, the Academic Report reveals the numbers from the calendar year and the current status of Campbell University heading into 2022.
The work Cynthia Lee and the staff of Campbell Health Clinic performed in January was crucial to the University’s efforts to conduct in-person classes and on-the-field athletics in 2021. From the moment the University learned of its first positive COVID-19 case on March 12, 2020, through the administering of its first vaccines to local residents nearly a year later, Lee and the team at the Campbell Health Center have conducted thousands of tests in the Campbell community and in Harnett County.
That’s meant thousands of nose swabs. Thousands of anxious minutes between tests and results. And while the positive rates on campus were been relatively low compared to other institutions, Lee delivered more than her fair share of bad news to those who were found to have the virus.
Much of Lee’s work for the past year has been performed in a brown and tan one-room aluminum “shed” full of personal protective equipment, filing cabinets and testing kits. She came to Campbell in May 2019, less than a year before the pandemic turned the world upside down. While her job currently isn’t what she expected then, she said she feels like this was a calling.
members of the med school’s graduating class this year matched into residency programs in the U.S. Armed Forces in January.
Cape Fear Valley Health broke ground on Jan. 14 on a state-of-the-art education and research center for medical residency programs that will benefit Campbell University medical students for generations to come.
The Center for Medical Education & Research and Neuroscience Institute will span five floors and 120,000 square feet and will include lecture halls, classrooms and simulations labs to provide resident medical students with hands-on, applied learning with sophisticated technology. The facility will open this summer.
“This new facility will be transformative in the way our medical students and residents are trained to serve patients in the Cape Fear Valley system,” said Campbell President J. Bradley Creed.
Cape Fear Valley is one of the six hospitals partnered with Campbell’s School of Osteopathic Medicine’s post-graduate residency programs. It offers residencies for Campbell students in emergency medicine, internal medicine, cardiology, OB/ GYN, surgery, psychiatry and transitional year training.
Students who returned to Buies Creek in January were required to take a COVID-19 test upon arrival — just one of many efforts by Campbell’s Health & Safety Committee to ensure a safe return when the spring semester began. The University hosted several on-campus testing events — run by Campbell faculty and assisted by students and staff — to make the process as seamless as possible. When faced with a similar decision in the fall, Campbell required either vaccination records, testing or proof of a recent test upon students’ return.
The School of Engineering’s founding dean will be the president of the American Society for Engineering Education.
In February, Dr. Jenna Carpenter was elected ASEE president-elect. She is currently serving a one-year term as president-elect, followed by a full year as ASEE president beginning in June 2022. ASEE is a global society of individual, institutional and corporate members
whose vision is “excellent and broadly accessible education empowering students and engineering professionals to create a better world.”
Carpenter was also honored in 2021 by the National Association of Engineers with their 2022 Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education.
A time capsule was commemorated with a plaque on a red brick walkway near Kivett Hall during the 2021 Founders Week. The capsule was filled with memorabilia representing student life in Buies Creek in the 21st century.
For the fourth consecutive year, the Campbell University Office of Annual Giving successfully topped its fundraising goal for Campbell Giving Day. Held on Feb. 3 as part of the university’s annual Founders Week, nearly 1,800 donors contributed more than $1.5 million on Campbell Giving Day to the Fund for Campbell, student scholarships, every Campbell school and college, all 21 athletic teams and many other initiatives.
Campbell Law School advanced to the National Black Law Students Association Mock Trial Competition in February, and the team of Kathleen Miller (pictured), Brandon Irabor, Jordan Arroyo and Daisha Barnes finished in the Final Four in the national event. During the national competition, the student advocates received high praise from the judges and beat advocates from Florida State University law school, the regional champion, to advance.
Campbell University got a brief cameo on actor Benedict Cumberbatch’s black polo in the film “The Mauritanian,” about a Guantanamo detainee’s fight for freedom and the Campbell Law alum (Col. Stuart Couch, portrayed by Cumberbatch) who fought to help him attain it.
A team of international engineering students led by Campbell sophomore Joshua Murray designed a clear, portable, sound-proof mask (the “Chatterbox”) that not only blocks out surrounding sound while working from home, but contains the speaker’s voice as well so as not to distract others. The design was one of three prize winners in the national “Innovate for Sustainability Challenge.”
<<<
Items in the time capsule included several magazines, COVID face masks, thumb drives and letters written by students and faculty detailing their life at Campbell.
CAMPBELL LAW SCHOOL was named the fourth best overall performer in a longitudinal study of bar passage published by Pepperdine University School of Law’s TaxProf Blog.
Campbell Law was the only North Carolina law school in the Top 15 and the first-place winner for 2017.
More than 800 pharmacy professionals received education on the COVID-19 VACCINES during a webinar series given by the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences’ Office of Continuing Professional Education and the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy.
Campbell Wrestling was a struggling program when former Olympian Cary Kolat took over as coach in 2014. The program had a 23-118 record in dual meets from 2004 to 2011 and was ranked near the bottom of NCAA Division I schools. Since 2016, under Kolat and current coach Scotti Sentes, Campbell has earned seven Southern Conference team trophies and produced 26 NCAA qualifiers and six All-Americans in the past five years. In March, Campbell Wrestling sent a school-record seven athletes to the NCAA Championships in St. Louis. Campbell entered the 2021-2022 season ranked in the Top 30 programs in the nation, and senior Josh Heil is the nation’s 10thranked wrestler in his weight class.
Dr. Muneeb Shah, a Campbell resident physician, is passionate about skin care education and empowering people to make informed decisions about their health. His skin care videos (@dermdoctor) have garnered millions of followers on TikTok and several social platforms.
After five years away as a vice president and dean in Tennessee, Dr. Brian Kessler returned home to become the second dean of the Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine.
Kessler was associate dean of clinical affairs for the medical school in 2011, two years before it opened its doors to students in 2013, and spent five years as vice president, dean and chief academic officer for Lincoln Memorial University’s DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine in Tennessee. Kessler said returning to Campbell was like coming home for him.
“It’s very similar to when you grow up, move away and return to your childhood home — the houses in your neighborhood might look different, and the shrubbery and landscaping might not be the same, but there’s still that warmth and familiarity.”
DR. SAL MERCOGLIANO
The world’s media needed an expert when a massive ship blocked one of the world’s busiest trading routes in 2021. A love of history and a life at sea prepared Dr. Sal Mercogliano, associate professor of history and chair of the History, Criminal Justice & Political Science department at Campbell (and a former Merchant Marine).
MSNBC, BBC, BBC International, the Associated Press, Bloomberg, NPR, CNN, Al Jazeera, Fox, ABC, Sirius XM and TV New Zealand (to name a few) all invited Mercogliano on their airwaves in March to talk about the Ever Given — a massive container ship that was stuck in the Suez Canal for six days, preventing nearly $10 billion worth of goods from getting to their destinations.
The College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences and Adult & Online Education partnered to offer an online BOTANICAL AND HOLISTIC HEALTH GRADUATE CERTIFICATE that equips post-professionals with the skills to positively impact patients’ well-being through integrative/holistic health.
Campbell Law School’s TRIAL ADVOCACY PROGRAM once again ranks among the best in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report’s release of Top Law Schools. The 19th place ranking marked Campbell Law’s third appearance in the Top 21 of the U.S. News list.
Campbell Athletics unveiled the LOUISA ALLIENE TAYLOR FOOTBALL LOCKER ROOM at Barker-Lane Stadium. The room was made possible by a naming gift from the Taylor family and Troy Lumber Company in Troy — was constructed by the company responsible for locker rooms at several Top 25 FBS programs.
When the 3-million-year-old Australopithecus fossil known as Little Foot was discovered buried in rock in a South African cave, scientists were excited to learn more about human evolution from one of the oldest and most intact set of bones ever discovered.
Researchers from the University of Southern California needed a specialist to analyze the hominid’s upper body. They brought in an expert on paleoanthropology and the evolution of human shoulder blades — Dr. David Green, associate professor of anatomy for the Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine.
Green’s analysis helped the team determine Little Foot had shoulder blades attached to thick muscles more similar to modern gorillas than today’s humans. The bones offer clues that climbing was vital for early hominids — suggesting that similarities between humans and apes persisted until far more recently than originally believed.
A team of students from the School of Engineering took home two national awards in NASA’s 27th annual Human Exploration Rover Challenge. Campbell took home the Project Review Award and the Ingenuity Award in the college/university division, besting schools from all over the world in those categories. The awards are the program’s first in only its third year competing in the challenge.
The annual NASA event encourages student teams from the United States and around the world to push the limits of innovation and imagine what it will take to explore the Moon, Mars and possibly other worlds.
Campbell’s men’s and women’s soccer programs each won Big South titles in 2021, but it was a historic year for the women’s program, which in the spring (played because the season was delayed in the fall) enjoyed its first conference tournament title at NCAA bid since 2004.
In the fall, Campbell’s women’s program won its first Big South Conference regular season title and first regular season title of any kind since it won the Atlantic Sun, also in 2004.
Campbell celebrated the many donors and friends who keep the University alive and well with its annual THANK-A-GIVER DAY in April. The day is marked with 400+ orange tags on buildings and other areas made possible by gifts, and students and staff personally thanked donors on social media throughout the day.
Campbell University health science programs have stepped up since the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in the U.S. and have led the effort to get vaccines in arms in the community and the state. The College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences partnered with Wake Tech in Raleigh to certify pharmacy students so they can administer vaccines under the supervision of a licensed pharmacist. The Community Care Clinic has provided vaccines throughout the year, and Campbell’s mobile care units have administered vaccines in underserved regions of North Carolina.
STEPHEN GASKINS took over as chairman of Campbell University’s Presidential Board of Advisors. Gaskins is a 1981 graduate of Campbell’s Trust and Wealth Management program and has been an active supporter of the University for decades, having served in several capacities.
When the Fighting Camels defeated Boston University, 7-1 in the Stillwater Regional of the NCAA Softball Tournament in May, it marked only the second victory on the sport’s biggest stage in the program’s history (the first and last win coming against UNC in 2008). Campbell finished the season with a 28-19 record and the Big South Regular Season and Tournament Championships — the first time Campbell has achieved the feat.
Destini England (pictured far right) was named Big South Player of the Year and was named to the NFCA Division I Southeast All-Region Third Team as an outfielder. Head coach Sharonda McDonald-Kelley was named coach of the year in just her third year at the University after leading the Camels to a 15-3 Big South record.
After claiming six championship trophies over five sports, Campbell was presented the George F. “Buddy” Sasser Cup recognizing the Camels as the top overall sports program in the Big South Conference for 2020-21. Campbell won the Big South men’s sports trophy for the third season in a row and finished as runner-up in women’s sports.
DR. STACY WISE was selected as director and chair of the Catherine W. Wood School of Nursing. A proud Navy veteran, Wise spent 15 years in military medicine and worked in acute care, ambulatory care, patient and staff education, and leadership.
Known as a student at Campbell for his big ideas and his love of people, ANDY LEPPER found his calling in India and became a father figure to hundreds before his untimely death. Lepper lost his battle with COVID-19 in May leaving behind a huge legacy.
After a year with virtual graduations brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Campbell University returned to in-person commencements in May for the Class of 2021 (and a special ceremony for 2020 graduates). The events were moved outdoors to follow guidelines and restrictions set forth by the state of North Carolina and the CDC. All ceremonies — aside from the law school’s event in downtown Raleigh’s Red Hat Amphitheater — were held at Barker-Lane Stadium under blue skies.
The School of Osteopathic Medicine publicly introduced its TWO MOBILE HEALTH UNITS during a ceremony in May. Each unit has two fully equipped exam rooms, lab space, refrigeration for immunization materials and educational systems on primary care issues and health care concerns common in rural areas.
After the pandemic all but wiped out marching band appearances in 2020, the Sound of the Sandhills Marching Band returned to start its fourth year in June. The band resumed appearances at Fighting Camel football games and other Campbell events in the fall. The band is currently at 100-plus members, and in addition to football games, smaller pep bands perform at both men’s and women’s basketball games, and different winter groups represent Campbell in competition.
Dr. Miranda van Tilburg’s work on ‘gut-brain connections’ in children is widely known, thanks in part to her influence on social media. Van Tilburg was the recipient of the 2021 D.P. Russ Jr. and Walter S. Jones Sr. Alumni Award for Research Excellence.
The Big South Conference regular season champion Campbell baseball team won two games in its opening round NCAA Regional tournament — slugging out big wins over Samford and Virginia Commonwealth — before ultimately ending its season with a hard-fought 6-5 loss to the seventh-ranked team in the nation, Mississippi State.
The loss ended Campbell’s season at 37-18, tied for the fourth-most wins in program history. Campbell’s two regional wins were the fourth and fifth in program history.
And the future is bright, as for the first time in program history, Campbell had two players named Freshman allAmericans in the same season. Thomas Harrington and Zach Neto were each tabbed to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Freshman All-America team.
DR. CAMERON JORGENSON
Associate Professor of Christian Theology and Ethics Dr. Cameron Jorgenson is the director for Campbell Divinity’s recently launched Master of Arts in Faith & Leadership Formation program, which provides intellectual and spiritual formation for those whose ministry is their work in the world.
“We knew we needed to build something for everybody, even if they haven’t been called into full-time service, but instead have been called to live out their faith in a variety of places that God has placed them,” he said. “We built a degree for that.”
Jorgenson has served as theologian in residence for the Campbell Youth Theological Institute. In 2021, he was the recipient of the D.P. Russ Jr. and Walter S. Jones Sr. Alumni Award for Teaching Excellence.
The med school’s new Mobile Health Education Clinics debuted during a week-long local MISSION SERVING MIGRANT FARM WORKERS and their families in Mt. Olive. The team provided health assessments, COVID testing and vaccinations to more than 100 patients during the week.
Law School Dean Emerita and Professor MELISSA ESSARY was among 10 women who were recognized as a “Raleigh Woman of Change” by the Friends of the City of Raleigh Museum at an inaugural event in June.
Harnett County Schools kicked off a partnership with the SCHOOL OF EDUCATION with the first Signing Day for Growing Greatness, an initiative to recruit and train Harnett County graduates and student teachers to become educators within the district.
Recalling the beginnings of Campbell Divinity School, founding Dean Dr. Michael Cogdill says one of the biggest challenges was coming up with the words to describe the school’s mission. The words needed meaning. They needed to last.
That mission: To provide Christ-centered, Bible-based and ministry-focused theological education.
“This is the DNA of this Divinity School,” says Cogdill, who stepped down as dean in 2009 and retired from higher education 10 years later. “To love the Lord with all of our hearts and minds, to learn all we can about the Bible and to serve God’s people. We encourage our students to make this commitment their personal mission statement.”
Campbell Divinity School celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2021. And while much as changed for the school in those first 25 years, “Christ-centered, Bible-based, ministryfocused” has indeed stood the test of time.
KRISTA UDD (’15 MPAP), who serves as a physician assistant in the cardiothoracic intensive care unit at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, gave the address at July’s Long White Coat Ceremony for the PA program. Udd has been serving on the front lines of the war on COVID-19 in one of the nation’s busiest hospitals and shared emotional moments from the past year and a half.
Nick Hyer, Dr. Michelle Perez, Dr. Bernice Alston, Tammi Fries, Kate Stoneburner and Jared Fries were among 16 Campbell University staff members who took part in the Office of Spiritual Life’s first vocational discernment cohort, a program committed to a journey of vocational exploration through reading, reflection, conversation and writing their own stories. These six shared their stories in a series of videos about their experiences that can be found at CAMPBELL.EDU/LIFE/SPIRITUAL-LIFE/
SARAH STEELE, who had served in numerous roles in her 13 years with the Norman A. Wiggins Memorial Library, was named Dean of the Library in July. ELIZABETH DOBBINS was also appointed head of research and instruction services and assistant dean of the library.
GINA CALABRO, a veteran attorney of 20-plus years who has represented Campbell University as outside counsel for the past five, was named general counsel. Calabro had served as counsel for Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart since 2015.
Former Fighting Camel Cedric Mullins enjoyed one of the best seasons in Baltimore Oriole history in 2021. Mullins became Baltimore’s first-ever 30/30 man (only the 43rd in Major League history), with exactly 30 homers and 30 stolen bases to go along with a .291 batting average and an .878 OPS. He finished in the Top 10 in the American League in hits, doubles, stolen bases and total bases, and was the only player this season in all of baseball to record two five-hit games. Perhaps the biggest thrill for the young centerfielder was being named a starter in the American League All-Star Game in July.
Campbell’s School of Education announced three promotions in July. DR. SAM ENGEL was promoted to associate dean, DR. CHRIS GODWIN is now assistant dean and chair of the Professional Education department, and DR. LAURA LUNSFORD is assistant dean for psychology and social work.
Nearly 800 new Campbell students took part in the first day of classes in August as the University resumed in-person learning to begin the fall semester. Of the 784 freshman and transfer students, 81 percent were North Carolina natives. Their arrival followed a “unique” 2021 admissions cycle as college-bound students all over the country navigated a very different college search over the past year and a half due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Yet, these students were resilient and resolute — they completed college applications, applied for financial aid opportunities and made virtual and in-person campus visits in an effort to find the perfect fit,” said David Mee, vice president for enrollment management. “Prospective students, their families and Campbell faculty and staff truly came together to ensure the mission of Campbell would continue.”
In August, 11 men made history as the first graduates of Campbell University and Sampson County Correctional Facility’s prison teaching initiative, called N.C. Higher Education in Prisons. The men earned associate’s degrees and have returned to the classroom to work toward their four-year bachelor’s degrees. During the commencement ceremony in Clinton, North Carolina, the men said their education has given them renewed purpose and a desire to be better people.
Alumna TATIANA TERRY (’19 LAW) became the law school’s director of competitive advocacy in August. Terry, one of the most decorated advocates in the law school’s 45-year history, took over the award-winning program, which has been ranked among the best in the nation by multiple publications.
After a year of canceled seasons, delayed seasons and seasons played before empty stadiums and arenas, fans were allowed back through the gates for Fighting Camel games in the fall. Barker-Lane Stadium, home to one of the best FCS Game Day atmospheres in the nation, enjoyed large crowds for football games and the soccer and volleyball programs all saw bigger attendance as they enjoyed postseason runs.
A Campbell faculty panel was held to discuss how the world has changed to commemorate the 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SEPT. 11 ATTACKS. The professors shared their views on history, government and literature and talked about how their respective fields of study have changed in the past 20 years.
The Lundy-Fetterman School of Business LEADERSHIP SUMMIT welcomed more than 150 guests to the Student Union to inspire and inform leaders for the business world and beyond.
Neither of Geena Matthews’ parents attended college, but Matthews learned what hard work looked like growing up with her grandparents, who jumped into the military and workforce straight after high school. Matthews joined Campbell’s program for first-generation college students as a freshman, figuring that while she may not really need it, having a mentor couldn’t hurt and might help.
Matthews’ mentorship was one of many in the First Generation Camels program designed to provide students like her with meaningful relationships with faculty, staff and alumni who were also first-generation college students. Now in its fourth year, the program has led to the formation of a student-led First Generation Club and has fostered more than 100 mentoring relationships that guide students through college life and beyond.
The students who took part in the program when it launched four years ago are now seniors. They talked about how the program helped them transition from inexperienced freshmen to upperclassmen in the Fall 2021 edition of Campbell Magazine
Law School alumnus Darius Boxley was named the Shipman & Wright Sports Law Clinic Office Manager and Legal Assistant just months after earning his degree and passing the bar exam.
The clinic plans to provide local student athletes with the specialized legal services they need to navigate the changing environment in which student athletes may engage in agreements with third parties to profit from the use of their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) while observing NCAA rules about improper inducements.
During law school, Boxley worked as a year-long clerk for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, where he investigated, mediated and drafted motions concerning compliance of Title VII and ADA laws. He also served as president of the Campbell Sports Law Association and was community service chair of the Black Law Student Association.
Campbell’s MOBILE HEALTH AND EDUCATION CLINICS traveled to support Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital in providing monoclonal antibody therapy to patients battling COVID-19 in that region of the state. The mobile units were funded by the state’s COVID Recovery Grant.
The head of a Nobel Peace Prizewinning organization battling global hunger and former governor of South Carolina was the keynote speaker at the CONSORTIUM FOR GLOBAL EDUCATION’s annual meeting, hosted by Campbell University and held at the Oscar N. Harris Student Union.
The Lundy-Fetterman School of Business, School of Education, and College of Arts and Sciences hosted middle school educators for an ECONOMICS EDUCATION WORKSHOP as they learned new lessons and activities to teach standards-based social studies and economics content.
In October 2020, Tyler Jackson — a Campbell alumnus and at the time an adjunct Spanish instructor at his alma mater — was rushed to the emergency room with what doctors would call a ruptured aneurysm in his brain.
A year later, Jackson was back in Buies Creek for Homecoming, where he reflected on his near-death experience. In an appearance on Campbell’s Rhymes With Orange podcast, Jackson said he was thankful for his friends for getting him to the hospital, his family for being by his side, the surgeons who spent hours on him and the “massive” amount of prayers and support from people all over the world who share his biggest passion — bluegrass music.
Jackson is a skilled musician and banjoist who started playing the instrument when he was 12. Today, he plays banjo in a professional bluegrass quintet, Drive Time, based out of Roxboro.
The Campbell University Alumni Association celebrated three alumni who embody the University’s mission — leading purposeful lives and engaging in meaningful service — at the 2021 Distinguished Alumni Awards Celebration, held in conjunction with Homecoming Weekend.
Dr. Michael Goodman (’04), Mr. Bernard McLeod (’45) (not pictured) and Dr. Shean Phelps (’92) were honored at the event, surrounded by friends, family, members of the Alumni Board of Directors, faculty and staff.
Upon receiving their awards, the three men shared appreciation for family and friends, and spoke words of gratitude towards their alma mater. Addressing his family’s table, Goodman (pictured below, left) told his children, “When you feel love from me, know that it comes from this place.”
Today, Goodman is founder of Sodzo International, an organization transforming lives for children in subSaharan Africa by helping underserved and homeless families in the area. Phelps, who described Campbell as his first true love, is an associate scientist for NASA’s Human Research Program.
And McLeod, for whom Campbell’s recently built Admissions Building is named, has the unique experience of having personally met every Campbell president, from J.A. Campbell to President J. Bradley Creed.
Teresa Walters — who has performed on six continents in some of the world’s greatest venues — performed selections from 19th Century Hungarian composer Franz Liszt on the nine-foot CONCERT
GRAND PIANO gifted to Campbell by the Donnie M. Royal Foundation.
The Office of Spiritual Life announced the beginning of a revitalization effort of BUTLER CHAPEL’S GATHERING SPACE for students looking to connect with one another and have a quiet place for reflection and community fellowship.
The parade. The annual Orange & Black outdoor Wrestle-Off. The lacrosse alumni game. The Alumni Village. The football game against nationally ranked Kennesaw State. The weather and the atmosphere couldn’t have been more perfect for Homecoming 2021, held on Oct. 23, the largest Campbell gathering since the start of the pandemic. For many, it marked a return to normalcy and a hope for better things to come.
The Law School officially opened its newest pro bono clinic — the GAILOR FAMILY LAW LITIGATION CLINIC — with a formal ribbon cutting attended by Raleigh’s Mayor MaryAnn Baldwin and other dignitaries. The clinic provides a place to mentor young lawyers-tobe who are interested in family law practice.
Buies Creek, North Carolina — home of the Campbell University Fighting Camels — ranked eighth in the nation in WalletHub’s 2021 list of “Best Sports Cities in America” in the “small cities” category. In compiling the list, WalletHub compared 392 cities of different sizes across the five largest sports in the country: football, basketball, baseball, hockey and soccer. Barker-Lane Stadium has been touted as having one of the best atmospheres in all of FCS Football.
When Athanas Kioko finished third in the nation at the 2021 NCAA Cross Country Championships held in Tallahassee, Fla., in November, his finish marked the best ever for a Campbell runner in the NCAA Championships (the previous best was Amon Kemboi’s seventh-place finish in 2018).
During the race, Kioko remained with the lead pack, taking the lead at multiple splits on the course throughout the day. His 10K time of 28:40.9 set a school-record, outpacing Lawrence Kipkoech’s 28:45.3 set at the 2017 NCAA Southeast Regionals.
His finish made Kioko an All-American. He was later named the 2021 Big South Conference Men’s Runner of the Year.
The Machakos, Kenya native is one of the most decorated runners in Campbell and Big South history. He is a Big South Male Athlete of the Year (2020-21), two-time All-American, Big South Track Athlete of the Year (2021) and two-time Big South Championships Most Valuable Athlete.
Campbell won its first ever Big South Championship in thrilling fashion in November, winning a five-set match over top seeded High Point Sunday at Gore Arena. The win secured Campbell’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and a first-round match-up against one of the top programs in the nation, Nebraska. The Camels, who featured no first-team all-conference selections, topped a High Point squad that featured four first-team players along with the player of the year, freshman of the year, libero of the year, co-setters of the year and coach of the year.
For the second time in 2021, the Campbell community stepped up in a big way for students and programs with more than 2,000 total gifts on CAMPBELL GIVING DAY, exceeding the goal of 1,887 in honor of the University’s founding year.
For the second time in three years, CAMPBELL MEN’S SOCCER won the Big South Conference regular season title and the tournament championship to advance to the NCAA College Cup. The Camels’ season ended with a tough 2-1 loss to Va. Tech.
Campbell University ranks eighth out of 56 colleges and universities in North Carolina that offer at least a bachelor’s degree and near the top 20 percent nationally in a 40-year return on investment (ROI), according to a 2019 study performed at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. The study considered the “net present value” of a degree, calculated by projecting earnings 40 years after a degree (based on the 10-year earnings) and factoring in the total investment of an education and projected debt calculations.
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) — the accrediting body for degree-granting institutions of higher education in the southern states — reaffirmed Campbell University’s accreditation to award associate, baccalaureate, masters and doctorate degrees in December. SACSCOC accreditation must be reaffirmed every 10 years, and accreditation signifies that the institution “has a mission appropriate to higher education,” “has resources, programs and services sufficient to accomplish and sustain that mission” and “maintains clearly specified educational objectives that are consistent with its mission and appropriate to the degrees it offers.”
CAMPBELL FOOTBALL began the December early signing period by inking 15 future Camels to National Letters of Intent, shaping up one of the FCS’ top incoming classes Featuring 15 incoming freshmen and one transfer, 11 were rated as three-star recruits or higher coming out of high school and safety Edric Weldon, who carried a four-star ranking by Rivals prior to an injury early in his senior season.
Less than a week after delivering her final COVID-19 update to the people of North Carolina, Dr. Mandy K. Cohen delivered the commencement address for Campbell University’s Winter Commencement in December.
Cohen, a graduate of Cornell University who earned her Doctor of Medicine from Yale School of Medicine and her Master’s in Public Health from Harvard School of Public Health, stepped down as North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services secretary after serving in the role for nearly five years. She became the face of COVID-19 response in the state in 2020 with her regular televised updates alongside Gov. Roy Cooper. Under her leadership, North Carolina became a model for best practices in providing equitable access to COVID testing and for data quality for vaccinations by race and ethnicity.
The orange and white Campbell mobile unit and medical tents stationed at Forest Hills Baptist Church in Raleigh on Dec. 12 represented hope and much-needed assistance to more than 150 Afghan refugees under the care of Lutheran Services Carolinas.
Students and faculty from the School of Osteopathic Medicine joined other doctors and student doctors from the area to provide health screenings and other on-site medical care to the men, women and children driven from their country by conflict, violence and persecution and currently staying in the U.S. under a Special Immigrant Visa.
According to Dr. Joe Cacioppo, chair of community and global medicine and associate professor of emergency medicine for Campbell’s med school, the group of refugees were among the 35,000-plus Afghan men and women currently staying in the U.S. and awaiting new homes after the chaotic evacuation at Kabul Airport over the summer.
Campbell Divinity School received a $1 million grant from LILLY ENDOWMENT INC. to support efforts at the University’s divinity school to make seminary education more accessible and to recruit and educate more students from diverse backgrounds.
The NORTH CAROLINA COMMISSION OF INDIAN AFFAIRS quarterly meeting was held at Campbell, hosted by Dean Dr. Alfred Bryant and the School of Education. The group discussed funding, goals and legislation and heard ideas for collaboration between Campbell and American Indian tribes.
Senior wrestler JOSH HEIL won the 149-pound division at the national Matmen Open in Illinois, leading three Campbell wrestlers to finish on the podium. Heil ended the calendar year ranked No. 10 in the country in his weight class and went a perfect 4-0 over the two-day tournament.
Over the past 10 years, Campbell University has enrolled more undergraduate students from North Carolina than any of the 36 private colleges and universities in the state, according to N.C. Independent Colleges and Universities.
and habits
On Jan. 5, 1887, James Archibald Campbell, a 26-year-old Baptist minister, welcomed 16 students to a small church in Buies Creek, North Carolina, for the first day of classes for the school he founded: Buies Creek Academy. By the end of the first term, there were 92 students.
Born during the Reconstruction era, Campbell has been no stranger to hardships in its history. Perhaps its biggest obstacle arrived on the night of Dec. 20, 1900, when a suspicious fire destroyed the entire campus. Founder J.A. Campbell — faced with the decision to close his school and move ahead — leaned on close friend Z.T. Kivett, who provided plans for a large brick building to become the new centerpiece of the campus.
From this, Campbell’s motto —ad astra per aspera, or, “To the Stars, Through Difficulties” was born.
Since then, Buies Creek Academy has grown and evolved to become Campbell Junior College (1926), Campbell College (1961), and Campbell University (1979).
Throughout these transformations, the university has remained true to its founding principles to address the most pressing needs of North Carolina and to educate men and women for Christian service around the world.
• 1887 | Opened as Buies Creek Academy when North Carolina needed more primary schools during post-Civil War Reconstruction
• 1956 | Campbell becomes home to the nation’s first summer basketball camp, attracting over the year’s some of the sport’s greatest names like John Wooden, “Pistol” Pete Maravich, Bob Cousy, Michael Jordan, Dean Smith, Jerry West, Kay Yow and James Worthy
• 1967 | Launched the nation’s first trust and wealth management program — one that continues to grow and thrive over 50 years later
• 1976 | Opened the first law school in North Carolina in over 35 years — the Norman A. Wiggins School of Law — at a time when the state needed more lawyers practicing in rural areas
• 1986 | Opened the first pharmacy school in the nation in over 40 years when North Carolina and the region needed more community pharmacists
• 2013 | Created the nation’s first fouryear degree in homeland security
• 2013 | Opened the first new medical school in North Carolina in over 35 years — the Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine — to address needs in rural and underserved areas of the state
Fueled by a higher calling, Campbell University provides a transformational learning experience that prepares students for servant leadership and equips them with skills
to make a difference in the lives of othersJ.A. Campbell (right) and his faculty
To
Campbell is home to more than 200 undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees across these academic divisions:
• Adult & Online Education
• Catherine W. Wood School of Nursing
• College of Arts & Sciences
• College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences
• Divinity School
• Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine
• Lundy-Fetterman School of Business
• Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law
• School of Education
• School of Engineering
• Main campus in Buies Creek, North Carolina, located in the prestigious Research Triangle region
• Branch campuses in Raleigh, Fort Bragg/Pope Field and Camp Lejeune/New River
• Online
• Enrolls more North Carolinians than any private school in the state.
• A leader in health education focused on rural and underserved areas.
• The only private university in the state with professional programs in law, medicine and pharmacy.
• One of only five private schools in the state to achieve the highest accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
• New programs and schools continue to expand our reach: School of Osteopathic Medicine in 2013; School of Nursing and School of Engineering in 2016.
• Home to the first and only osteopathic medical school in North Carolina; 100 percent of its graduates have been placed into residency programs.
• School of Business is home to the only trust and wealth management undergraduate program in the United States.
• College of Arts & Sciences houses North Carolina’s first undergraduate degree in homeland security.
graduate students with exemplary academic and professional skills who are prepared for purposeful lives and meaningful service.Main campus in Buies Creek
Campbell is the only private university in the state with professional programs in law, medicine and pharmacy and is one of five to achieve the highest accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. New schools continue to expand our reach: School of Osteopathic Medicine in 2013; School of Nursing and School of Engineering in 2016.
With programs in osteopathic medicine, pharmaceutical sciences, nursing, physician assistant, physical therapy and sports medicine, Campbell University has emerged in the last 20 years as a leader in health sciences education in North Carolina. Our graduates are filling a need for health professionals in some of the most underserved regions of the Southeast.
• Total enrollment for Fall 2021: 5,621
• Student/Faculty Ratio: 15:1
• Enrollment by campus
o Main Campus: 4,301
o Other Campuses: 948
o Online: 372
• Enrollment by programs
• Arts & Sciences: 1,693
• Business: 829
• Divinity: 126
• Education: 525
• Engineering: 176
• Law: 532
• Osteopathic Med: 674
• Phar macy & HS: 1,066
• Key Performance Indicators
• Undergrad M/F ratio: 48/52
• Graduate M/F ratio: 38/62
• Minority students: 38%
• Retention (F-S): 74%
• Retention (S-J): 85%
• Graduation Rate (4Y): 37%
• Graduation Rate (6Y): 55%
• Average ACT: 22.00
• Average SAT: 1,122
• Nearly 90 percent of Campbell University students receive a scholarship or some form of financial aid.
• Campbell ranked 277th in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 Best National Universities list. This year marked the third year Campbell was included in the National Universities list, as it was considered a regional college or university in previous rankings.
• Campbell ranked 58th in the nation for “Best Undergrauate Teaching” and 153rd among top performers in social mobility, according to U.S. News & World Report.
• Campbell University’s online bachelor programs ranked 87th in the nation — higher than any private college or university in North Carolina — by U.S. News & World Report in its 2022 assessment of online degrees.
• Named among the nation’s “Military Friendly” universities by Victory Media and one of the “best universities for veterans” by the Military Times from 2013-21. Campbell also ranked 51st in the nation — among both private and public universities — in U.S. News & World Report’s list of best online bachelor programs for veterans.
• Again named one of the “Best Colleges in the Southeast” by Princeton Review in 2021.
• The College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences ranked in the top half of Best Pharmacy Schools and Best Physician Assistant Programs in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 rankings of Best Grad Schools.
• Campbell Law ranks among the nation’s top law schools (No. 48) for bar exam overperformance, according to data released by the American Bar Association Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar and fourth nationally in bar passage according to a study by Pepperdine University School of Law. The school has been recognized by the ABA as having the nation’s top Professionalism Program and by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers for having the nation’s best Trial Advocacy Program. In 2020, Campbell Law School saw its highest overall pass rate — 93.1 percent — on the North Carolina Bar Exam since 2012. Campbell Law also ranked 19th nationally for trial advocacy programs, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 list.
• Campbell ranks eighth out of 56 colleges and universities in North Carolina that offer at least a bachelor’s degree and near the top 20 percent nationally in a 40-year return on investment (ROI), according to a 2019 study performed at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.
• North Carolina Association of Colleges and Universities
• North Carolina Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
• National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
• Association of Baptist Colleges and Schools
• Council for Christian Colleges and Universities
• American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
• American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education
• Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network
• Big South Conference (Athletics)
• Southern Conference (Wrestling)
• Campbell University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award Associate, Baccalaureate, Masters, Education Specialist, and Doctorate degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call (404) 679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of
Campbell University. The Commission should be contacted only if there is evidence that appears to support the university’s significant non-compliance with an accreditation requirement or standard. Normal inquiries about Campbell University, such as admission requirements, financial aid, educational programs, etc., should be addressed directly to the appropriate office of the university and not to the Commission’s office.
• Campbell’s Professional Education programs are accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and approved by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI).
• The Social Work program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).
• The Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law is approved by the Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar of the American Bar Association.
• The College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences is accredited by the American Council on Pharmaceutical Education.
• The Physician Assistant program is accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA).
• The Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine is accredited by the Commission on Osteopathic
College Accreditation (COCA), and Campbell University is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.
• The Divinity School is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS).
• The business programs offered by the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs.
• The Professional Golf Management program is accredited by the PGA of America.
• The Athletic Training program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) and the Athletic Training Education Program (ATEP).
• The Doctor of Physical Therapy program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE).
• The baccalaureate degree program in nursing is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
• The Master of Science in Public Health is fully accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health.
• Campbell’s School of Engineering received approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to offer a Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree (BSE).
Our 115,000-square-foot student union is the highlight of significant campus growth over the past 20 years. New residence halls, a health sciences campus, the law school’s move to downtown Raleigh and a recently renovated state-ofthe-art performance hall show Campbell’s commitment to growth and meeting the needs of its students.
Our main campus in Buies Creek is just 30 miles from one of the nation’s fastestgrowing cities, Raleigh, North Carolina. But our presence is felt in the City of Oaks with the Norman A. Wiggins School of Law, currently the only law school located in the state capital. Our Raleigh campus is also home to programs in Adult & Online Education and our School of Business.
There are more than 50,000 living Fighting Camel alumni living in the U.S. and across the globe. Campbell University’s Office of Alumni Engagement works with these men and women to create meaningful engagement opportunities.
In its inaugural year, over 1,100 alumni, faculty, staff and students registered to participate in the Alumni Association’s digital mentoring platform. CamelLink serves students and alumni by creating meaningful connections focused on career exploration and readiness, mentoring, networking and more. Alumni and friends can learn more about the program by visiting mentor.campbell.edu.
Many alumni have carried their entrepreneurial spirit, expertise and Campbell education into the workforce by starting a variety of businesses. The Orange Owned program celebrates alumni-owned businesses, and provides the Campbell community access to information regarding alumniowned services through an online business directory. Discover over 200 Orange Owned businesses or register your business at alumni. campbell.edu/orange-owned.
Campbell University Athletics has a proud athletic tradition. Campbell is committed to promoting team and individual success, making scholarship and educational opportunities available to more than 400 studentathletes, and creating memorable experiences for Camel fans.
• Athletic nickname: The Fighting Camels
• Mascots: Gladys and Gaylord
• Participates in NCAA Div. I athletics: 11 male sports (baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, indoor track & field, outdoor track & field, wrestling); and 12 female sports (basketball, cheerleading, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, indoor track & field, outdoor track & field, volleyball)
• Athletic affiliations: Big South Conference, Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association and Southern Conference (Wrestling)
• Campbell University is the defending recipient of the George F. “Buddy” Sasser Cup, which recognizes the top overall sports program in the Big South Conference.
• Defending Regular Season Conference Tournament Championships: Wrestling, Men’s Cross Country, Men’s Soccer,
Baseball, Men’s Golf, Women’s Soccer, Softball, Volleyball and Women’s Golf.
Since 2013, Campbell University Athletics has experienced tremendous on-the-field success, including:
• 46 NCAA Championship appearances
• 141 conference champions
• 32 All-American Selections
• 56 Conference Athletes of the Year
• 655 All-Conference selections
• 3 consecutive Men’s All-Sports Trophies (2018-2021)
• 2 consecutive Conference AllSports Trophies (2019-2021)
• 3 consecutive Top-100 Learfield Cup Finishes, with 2021 CU Athletics finishing 79th in Division 1.
With more than 500 student-athletes, athletics programs at Campbell University have maintained a cumulative GPA of over 3.0 for 14 straight semesters (through spring 2021). During the 2020-2021 academic year, Campbell student-athletes earned 289 Academic All-Conference honors and two Big South Conference Academic Athlete of the Year honors.
University investments in facilities have fueled the athletic program’s growth and success. Facility updates since 2013 include:
• $15.9 million in Barker-Lane Football Stadium
• $4.3 million in Jim Perry Baseball Stadium
• $1.7 million in Wrestling Center addition
• $1 million in the Burt Family Sports Performance Center
• $500,000 in Eakes Athletics Complex Soccer Stadium
• Over $1.85 million in new track and turf fields installed at football/ women’s lacrosse stadium, baseball and softball fields
• Over $2.5 million in new video boards and upgrades at Barker-Lane Football Stadium, Jim Perry Baseball Stadium, Gore Arena, and Eakes Soccer Stadium
• Nearly $2.4 million in renovations and locker rooms upgrades for several programs
• $250,000 new basketball court for men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball
• $200,000 in the newly designed Holding Athletic Performance and Fitness Center for team training.
Just this past year, Campbell programs won six conference championships, enjoyed eight NCAA Championship appearances, won the Big South Conference Sasser Cup and had its highest-ever finish (79th) in the Learfield Cup. Since 2013, Campbell Athletics have experienced 46 NCAA Championship appearances, 141 conference champions, 32 All-America selections and 56 conference athletes of the year. More importantly, our athletes are champions in the classroom, too.
Dr. J. Bradley Creed President
Dr. John T. Roberson
Executive Vice President
Dr. Mark L. Hammond
Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost
Dr. Omar Banks Director of Athletics
Dr. Dennis N. Bazemore Vice President for Student Life
Rev. Faithe C. Beam Vice President for Spiritual Life and Campus Minister
Mrs. Sandy Connolly Vice President for Business and Chief Financial Officer
Dr. Britt J. Davis
Vice President for Institutional Advancement
Dr. David Mee
Vice President for Enrollment Management
Dr. Jerry Wallace Chancellor
Mrs. Sherri Yerk-Zwickl
Vice President for Information Technology & CIO
Dr. Michael Adams Pharmacy & Health Sciences
Dr. Jenna P. Carpenter School of Engineering
Hon. J. Rich Leonard School of Law
Dr. Alfred Bryant School of Education
Dr. Chris O’Connor Student Involvement
Kevin J. O’Mara School of Business
Dr. Brian Kessler School of Osteopathic Medicine
Sarah Steele Wiggins Memorial Library
Dr. Beth Rubin
Adult & Online Education
Dr. Andrew H. Wakefield Divinity School
Dr. Donna E. Waldron Global Engagement
Dr. Michael B. Wells College of Arts & Sciences
BOARD CHAIR
Benjamin N. Thompson Dunn
BOARD VICE CHAIR
R. Henry Capps, Jr. Huntersville
Robert J. Barker, Sr.
Steve Bryan
Guilford W. Bass (Lifetime Trustee)
Travis Burt
Ed Byrd (Lifetime Trustee)
David K. Clark (Lifetime Trustee)
Suzanne Cook
Helen Currin (Lifetime Trustee)
Jayne Davis
Leah Devlin
Donald C. Evans
David J. Hailey
Joseph C. Hall, Jr.
Molly Held
Ester H. Howard (Lifetime Trustee)
Joseph H. Hunt
Glenn Infinger
Thomas J. Keith
Anna Drew Kirk
Susan Lawrence
James Eugene (Gene) Lewis, III
Elaine Marshall
Bernard F. McLeod, Jr. (Lifetime Trustee)
Karen McNeil-Miller
Anna McNeill Oliver
Christopher Neal
Jim Evan Perry (Lifetime Trustee)
William Pully
Willard D. Small (Lifetime Trustee)
Henry L. Smith
Luther D. Starling, Jr.
Randell C. Stoney, Jr.
Frederick H. Taylor
Frederick L. Taylor, II
Robert P. Wellons
Harold B. Wells, Jr.
David Wharton
Fred Whitfield
Robert Whiteman (Lifetime Trustee)
Campbell University reaches tens of thousands of students, alumni, faculty and staff and prospective students a day through its various social media platforms.
Post Office Box 567
Buies Creek, NC 27506
www.campbell.edu
Gaylord the Fighting Camel and his partner Gladys were once again named among the “Best Nicknames and Mascots” by the NCAA in 2021, joining the likes of the Florida A&M Rattlers, Youngstown State Penguins, Richmond Spiders and Albany Great Danes, among others.
