University Of Delaware: In Memoriam: L. Leon Campbell

Wilmington DE

21 December, 2021

10:54 AM

Description

Press release from the University of Delaware: Article by UDaily staff December 20, 2021 Campus community remembers long-time provost, professor L. Leon Campbell, professor of microbiology and the longest serving provost in the University of Delaware's history, died on Nov. 5, 2021. He was 94. Dr. Campbell was the University's fourth provost, serving from 1972-88, throughout much of the presidency of Dr. E. Arthur Trabant, an era of significant growth and change for the institution. After stepping down at provost, he was Hugh M. Morris Research Professor of Molecular Biosciences, retiring in 2011. In the 1990s and early 2000s, he was active with the University of Delaware Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (UD-AAUP). In The University of Delaware: A History, historian John Munroe calls Dr. Campbell's appointment "the most important administrative appointment on campus in this period." Munroe writes, "His supervision of the academic functions of the University has allowed him to support the appointment of women and member of minority groups, especially Blacks. He has urged a renewed emphasis on general education, while remaining sympathetic to interdisciplinary programs. Like President Trabant, Campbell has insisted that a true university is concerned with the advancement of knowledge, as well as with its transmission, and both men have therefore encouraged the development of research programs." At 11 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022, Dr. Campbell's ashes, and those of his wife, Alice, will be installed at Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery, located at 2465 Chesapeake Rd., Bear, Delaware. Members of the campus community are welcome to attend. While there will be no formal ceremony, anyone who would like to say a few words about Dr. Campbell will be invited to do so. Colleagues remember Several of Dr. Campbell colleagues shared their reflections about him and his contributions to the University. This press release was produced by the University of Delaware. The views expressed here are the author's own.