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Chris Campbell Takes Over at Hampton's J-School

By Daarel Burnette II

After an extensive national search, Hampton University's recently built Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications has chosen a new leader.

Dr. Christopher Campbell

Dr. Christopher Campbell, former director of the School of Journalism and Mass Media at the University of Idaho, took on the job of full-time director of the Scripps Howard School over the summer.

"I'm really excited to be here," Campbell said. "I like the students and the faculty. I think we have excellent support from the administration."

The school faced some troubled times when Charlotte Grimes, who chaired the Department of Mass Media Arts, resigned after a dispute with President William R. Harvey over the school's mission statement and whether investigative journalism would be taught.

The resignation brought wide attention from local and national news media outlets who were closely watching the partnership between the HBCU and a large media foundation.

A Black College Communication Association member, Campbell was confronted daily with reports about Hampton's school of journalism that he said both disturbed and saddened him.

He described the incident as a "misunderstanding," stating that Harvey only wants "good and ethical journalism."

Harvey "recognizes the need for the journalism industry to do better," Campbell said. "I think there were other issues going on there," he said. "It was a lot of miscommunication.

"After I met Dr. Harvey, and [Judy] Clabes, [president and CEO of the Scripps Howard Foundation], I didn't have any reservations about what we're going to be able to do here."

In an effort to revitalize the school's reputation, the school brought in a host of new professors, including Earl Caldwell, who, then working at the New York Times, became the only reporter to witness Martin Luther King's assassination.

Campbell said there was no question in his mind that investigative journalism would be taught.

"It has been [taught] all along," he said. "We've got professors here who have won major awards for investigative journalism."

The mission statement, meanwhile, is still being drafted.

"I think it's basically going to say that what we're trying to do here is what Scripps Howard has said, which is that the journalism industry needs more diverse voices," he said. "We're going to go out and train for the industry."

Although the mission statement doesn't specifically describe any specific forms of journalism, he said it encompasses the idea that "we're here to prepare students for careers in journalism."

Campbell is already working toward the school�s goal of becoming one of top 10 journalism schools in the nation.

He said he wants to raise the standards for interested students, develop partnerships with other foundations, build the scholarship endowment, bring in more endowed chairs and even add a master's program.

"We want to attract students who are looking at Berkeley!" said the native of Dayton, Ohio. He went on to describe his shock when more than 170 freshman showed up to the meeting for students interested in becoming journalism majors.

Campbell brings an extensive background.

It includes a doctorate in mass communication from the University of Southern Mississippi, a master's in mass communication from the University of Southern Illinois at Edwardsville, and a bachelor's in English from Webster University in St. Louis.

Campbell has also worked as a newspaper reporter and copy editor, and as an assignment editor for a St. Louis television station. He wrote a 1995 book, "Race, Myth and the News."

But Campbell is more widely known for his 13 years of work as the communications department chair and director of the mass communication program at Xavier University in New Orleans, an HBCU.

He has drawn rave reviews from academic and professional peers and has a well-developed network in the journalism field, according to search committee member Mary Kay Blake, who is senior vice president/partnerships of the Freedom Forum journalism foundation).

"Dr. Campbell is an excellent choice for Hampton," she said. "I am confident he will help deepen and broaden the excellent path Hampton is now on, thanks to the Scripps Howard Foundation's generous funding and guidance and the Hampton president's plan for excellence."

At the School of Journalism and Communications, Prof. Curtis Holsopple said Campbell's "warm, friendly, and engaging" energy was a plus.

"He's been very supportive," he said. "He knows what he's doing and he thinks we know what we're doing as faculty."

Rosalynne Whitaker-Heck, who will now serve as assistant director after being interim director, said, "He and I were able to speak easily with each other right away." "He has a wonderful personality."

"We're getting things restarted," Campbell said. "There are very positive vibes around here."

Daarel Burnette II is a student at Hampton University who writes for The Hampton Script.

Posted Sept. 17, 2003