Karen A. Campbell, Ph.D. remembers the moment she realized she would not have enough money to cover expenses during her senior year of college.
“I didn’t know what I was going to do,” she said.
She learned of a scholarship fund for students with extenuating circumstances and applied for help. More than three decades later, she still recalls the day she learned she was approved for an immediate need scholarship, enough to assure she could continue her education.
“It enabled me to stay in college,” said Campbell, Albright College’s provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. “I’ve been appreciative of that help ever since.”
That experience makes it extra special to Campbell that a former student created an Advancing Lives Scholarship — a fund that also provides assistance for students with extenuating circumstances — in her honor. Advancing Lives Scholarships were initiated in 2019 after a matching leadership gift made by Jeff ’83 and Cindy Joyce and the Joyce Family Foundation helped establish 20 new endowed scholarships. The funds are designed to help sophomores, juniors and seniors bridge the rising costs of tuition that are not included in their first-year financial aid package.
“I was just overwhelmed when I found out he had done that,” said Campbell, who, after teaching biology for more than 30 years still holds the P. Kenneth Nase Chair of Biology endowed position in addition to her administrative roles. “It means so much to me.”
The former student — Bryan R. Wilson, M.D. ’11 — said establishing the Karen A. Campbell, Ph.D. Advancing Lives Scholarship was an easy decision. Wilson took several classes with Campbell and the two established a relationship, remaining in close contact.
“Dr. Campbell is one of the best and the whole motivation for what I did,” said Wilson, a physician at St. Luke’s University Health Network in Bethlehem. “She’s had a huge impact on dozens and dozens and dozens of students, especially those going into the medical field. It was a no-brainer to me that she should be recognized for everything she did to support us.”
When Wilson encountered some difficulties with a class during his first year in medical school, he knew who to turn to.
“My first ask for help wasn’t to anyone at the medical school, it was to Dr. Campbell,” he recalled. “And she was there to help, just like she always was.”
Wilson received scholarships for college and medical school that made costs far more manageable and enabled him to concentrate more fully on rigorous academics and clinical experiences. Being able to pass along those benefits to other students is a satisfying feeling, he said.
“I just wanted to give back and help another student the way I was helped. If I can help a little, I’m happy to do it, especially in honor of Dr. Campbell,” affirmed Wilson.
