[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 25 (Wednesday, March 9, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 9, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
 HONORING THE MEMORY OF A WONDERFUL KENTUCKIAN, DR. HENRY A. CAMPBELL, 
                                  JR.

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the memory of Dr. 
Henry A. Campbell, Jr., of Kentucky who passed away recently. Dr. 
Campbell devoted his life to educating America's youth, spending most 
of the last 30 years as president of Prestonsburg Community College 
[PCC] in Floyd County, KY.
  Dr. Campbell became president of PCC in June 1964, at a time when the 
total enrollment of the college was only 322 students. Mr. President, 
by the time he retired in June 1991, Prestonsburg Community College 
boasted a student population of more than 2,500. Dr. Campbell was not 
only responsible for increasing enrollment, he greatly expanded the 
curriculum as well establishing a satellite campus in Pike County which 
claims an enrollment of more than 800 students.
  Although Dr. Campbell lived and taught in many sections of the 
country, he began and ended his career in rural Kentucky. He taught for 
the first time at Buckeye High School in Garrard County in 1949 before 
he moved on to positions in New Mexico, Harlan County, KY, and as the 
first president of Crowder College in Neosho, MO.
  After returning to Kentucky in 1963 he soon was named president of 
PCC, he dedicated his life to the development and improvement of the 
college. The school now consists of a five-building educational complex 
which was constructed during his tenure. Among the buildings is the 
Campbell Science Center which was named in his honor.
  Mr. President, Dr. Campbell will be remembered as an educator and 
administrator who gave his all every day and never lost sight of the 
most important rule in education--the student comes first. In fact, 
perhaps he described it best when he said of his legacy, ``The part of 
life that is most rewarding is looking around in the Big Sandy and the 
State and seeing thousands of young people who are working at respected 
jobs in every walk of life--and it started right here.'' Indeed, Dr. 
Campbell launched many successful careers and contributed greatly to an 
improved quality of life in the region.
  Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join me in remembering this 
wonderful Kentuckian. The people of eastern Kentucky have suffered a 
tremendous loss, but fortunately the legacy of Dr. Henry A. Campbell, 
Jr., will live on for many years to come as a result of his tremendous 
work and dedication. In addition, I ask that an article from the Floyd 
County Times be inserted in the Record at this point.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

             [From the Floyd County Times, Feb., 23, 1994]

                 Education Pioneer Dies; Funeral Is Set

                          (By Janice Shepherd)

       Former Prestonsburg Community College President Dr. Henry 
     A. Campbell Jr., 68, died Tuesday morning at the Veterans 
     Medical Center in Huntington, West Virginia. He leaves behind 
     a legacy that will be shared each time a PCC student is 
     awarded a diploma.
       Dr. Campbell was PCC's first president, taking the helm 
     June 12, 1964. Under his tutelage, the college grew from an 
     enrollment of 322 students in 1964 to more than 2,500 
     students 1991, when he retired on June 30. He expanded the 
     curriculum and, in 1987, established a satellite campus in 
     Pike County which now enrolls more than 800 students.
       Campbell established a science building on the PCC campus 
     and it has been named the Campbell Science Center in his 
     honor. He also played a role in the establishment of Hazard 
     Community College.
       Born August 27, 1925 in Cosmos, Washington, he was a son of 
     Henry A. Campbell Sr. of Clarksville, Tennessee, and the late 
     Viva Blair Campbell. He attended elementary school in Wayland 
     when his family moved back to their home state. The Campbells 
     moved to Hi Hat in 1940 and Campbell graduated from 
     Wheelwright High School in 1943.
       While an engineering student at the University of Kentucky, 
     Campbell joined the Army's Special Reserve Program on August 
     3, 1943. He was in the reserves for one quarter before going 
     to Ft. Benning, Georgia, and later to Ft. Jackson, South 
     Carolina for training.
       He joined the 87th infantry and served in Europe with the 
     3rd Army under General George Patton. He was wounded and sent 
     back to Camp Carson, Colorado where he was discharged on 
     July 7, 1945.
       He returned to Washington and enrolled in a university in 
     Seattle. After two years, he transferred to UK where he 
     graduated with a major in math. Campbell later obtained a 
     Master's Degree in 1957 and an Education Specialist Degree in 
     1961 from the New Mexico State University. He was awarded his 
     Ph.D. from the University of Texas in 1963.
       Campbell began his teaching career at Buckeye High School, 
     Garrard County, in 1949. He also taught at high schools in 
     Harlan County and in New Mexico. In 1957, a community college 
     was established in Alamogordo, New Mexico, and Campbell 
     became its first director. On August 20, 1963, he accepted a 
     post as first president of Crowder College, a two-county 
     junior college in Neosho, Missouri.
       Campbell returned to Kentucky after his wife, Patsy Ruth 
     Justice, and son, John Charles Campbell, died in 1963. He was 
     offered the position of dean at Alice Lloyd College but chose 
     the challenge of developing the new college in Prestonsburg. 
     He spent the next 27 years molding the college from its 
     single, one-story Johnson Building to the five-structure 
     educational complex that it is today. During an interview at 
     his retirement, Dr. Campbell said that he felt good about the 
     role he had played in educating Eastern Kentucky students.
       ``The part of life that is most rewarding is looking around 
     in the Big Sandy and the state and seeing thousands of young 
     people who are working at respected jobs in every walk of 
     life--and it started right here. Had the college not been 
     here, they would not have had this opportunity to pursue 
     those careers,'' Campbell said.
       Campbell was a community leader and fundraiser. A former 
     president of the Jenny Wiley Drama Association, he served on 
     the boards of the East Kentucky Health Systems Agency, the 
     Big Sandy Area Development District, Area Health Education 
     System, Big Sandy Comprehensive Health Planning Council, and 
     Big Sandy Tourism Committee.
       Campbell was an active member of many local, state and 
     national educational organizations, including the national 
     Education Association and Phi Delta Kappa. Campbell was 
     listed in Who's Who in Education and in Presidents and Deans 
     of American Colleges and Universities.
       In addition to his father, Campbell is survived by his 
     wife, Nancy Elizabeth Belew Campbell; three daughters, Mica 
     Lauren Rogers of Beckley, West Virginia, Jane Rebecca 
     Brockhausen of Garden Grove, California, and Sheryl Robin 
     Campbell at home; and four grandchildren. He is also survived 
     by his stepbrother, Ernest Wendell Campbell, of Clarksville, 
     Tennessee; three sisters, Terri LaMothe of Prestonsburg, 
     Phyllis Campbell of San Diego, California, and Lu Wilgus of 
     San Marcos, California; a stepmother, Mrs. Henry A. Campbell 
     Sr.; and a niece, whom he helped rear, Linda Wilgus of San 
     Diego, California.
       Visitation may be made today, Friday, from 11 a.m. to 9 
     p.m. in Room 102, of the Johnson Building at PCC. A local 
     funeral service will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday in the 
     Pike Auditorium at PCC.
       Local arrangements are under the direction of the Hall 
     Funeral Home.
       Visitation will also be held Saturday, from 5-9 p.m. at 
     Pulaski Funeral Home in Somerset. A second funeral service 
     will also be conducted Sunday at 1 p.m. at the funeral home 
     in Somerset. Burial will be made in the Bethel Cemetery at 
     Burnside.
       All classes and activities at PCC on Friday and Saturday 
     have been canceled.
       In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Henry 
     A. Campbell Jr. Scholarship Fund at PCC.

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