Robert Rosen & Paul Hegland, Carthage College
KENOSHA, Wis. -- F. Gregory Campbell, 18th president of Carthage College, will retire in August 2012, twenty-five years after assuming office.
Under Mr. Campbell’s leadership, the College has excelled in virtually every facet of performance.
Full-time student enrollment has grown from 800 to 2,500, and total enrollment now exceeds 3,400 students. Seven thousand high school seniors applied for the 720 positions in the freshman class entering in September 2011.
?Intensive national searches have built a teaching-oriented faculty holding Ph.D.s from major graduate programs in the U.S. The number of faculty has doubled in the last 25 years.
Two major curriculum reforms have restored structure and emphasized classical approaches to arts and sciences education.
In the past decade alone, the College has invested more than $130 million in new construction, major renovations and technological acquisition. The College has operated with budget surpluses every year since 1988. Rising gift income has reflected the growing confidence of Carthage's friends and supporters.
“When I arrived at Carthage in 1987, I thought, ‘This is a school with great potential,’” said Mr. Campbell. “There is even greater potential today.”
Mr. Campbell came to Carthage from The University of Chicago, where he had been special assistant to the president, secretary of the Board of Trustees, and senior lecturer. In addition to his 16 years at Chicago, Mr. Campbell held administrative and/or faculty positions at Yale University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
As a historian, he specialized in international relations and Central European history. He was awarded two Fulbright grants, three IREX exchange fellowships with Czechoslovakia, a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, and a Lewis-Farmington Fellowship at Yale.
“When Greg Campbell arrived, Carthage was a diamond in the rough,” said Debra Waller, chairman of the Carthage Board of Trustees. “He imagined a great college, rolled up his sleeves, and provided the leadership necessary to realize that vision. This was more than a job to him—he had found his calling. What sparkles today is the reward for many years of hard work, courageous decisions, and an enduring love for the College and its students.”
Mr. Campbell and his wife, Barbara Kuhn Campbell, are active members of St. Mary's Lutheran Church in Kenosha. He also serves the community as vice chairman of the United Hospital System and the Kenosha Hospital and Medical Center, and as a director of the Prairie School in Racine, Wis. Besides the St. Mary’s church council, of which she was chair, Mrs. Campbell serves on the board of the Kenosha Achievement Center.
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Over the years, Mr. Campbell has chaired civic commissions for both the city and county of Kenosha, and for the Kenosha and Racine school districts. Most recently, he co-chaired the Racine Independent Commission on Education, a group charged with analyzing the challenges facing the Racine Unified School District and providing recommendations. In 2004-05, he led the United Way of Kenosha County campaign. In 1997, he co-chaired the Kenosha Progress Committee, which was charged with building a community consensus for the HarborPark project in downtown Kenosha.
“Carthage has grown up alongside Kenosha,” said Ralph Tenuta, Carthage Trustee Emeritus and longtime Kenosha businessman. “We all see the kids that come to Carthage to get an education, and many of them stay here, helping us build the city. One of Greg’s great contributions to Kenosha was his leadership in increasing the College’s learning opportunities for adults. By expanding the evening and weekend studies program, he has helped us become smarter, and has given us a better future.”
Mr. Campbell has served as an officer of virtually every state, national or church organization of which Carthage is a member. Currently he is a trustee of Thrivent Mutual Funds and the Thrivent Variable Products funds. He previously served on the NCAA Division III Presidents Council, as director of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and served two terms as chairman of the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
“Barbara and I have been students at Carthage for many years,” said Mr. Campbell. “Every day has been a learning experience. No other endeavor could have been more rewarding. Yet, it is time for younger leadership at the College, and time for Barbara and me to seek fresh adventures and face new challenges. We are much better prepared because of Carthage.”
Mr. and Mrs. Campbell will have resided on campus for twenty-five years. Mrs. Campbell now is retired from her positions at NORC (affiliated with the University of Chicago) and Snap-on Incorporated. They have raised three sons—Fenton, Matthew, and Charles, now in their 30s—during their time at Carthage. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell look forward to experiencing more fully the growth of their granddaughter, Lilah, who is 4.
About President Campbell