Dr. Pearl Campbell

Albany, NY

Date of Birth: September 4, 1911

Nomination from: Rev. S. Albert Newman

Organization: Westminster Presbyterian Church

Early Accomplishments: Pearl Posey Campbell was born in Chattanooga. Tennessee. Memories of her mid-preschool years include seeing her mother using a treadle sewing machine while making clothes for two toddlers younger than Pearl, after their mother died and riding "horsey" on the foot of her maternal grandfather, a Methodist minister (and earlier circuit rider in East Tennessee).

 When Pearl was eight, the family moved 20 miles north of Chattanooga to Big Soddy, the village where her father had lived during childhood. As a high school senior, Pearl placed 1st in the state as an overall 4-H club girl. The prize was a week's trip to Washington, DC for Pearl and other winners to meet President Hoover. Pearl was valedictorian of her graduating class. Her college degrees included a BS and an MS from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and the Ph.D. from Cornell University. The national honors to which she was elected included: Phi Kappa Phi, Omicron Nu and Pi Lambda Theta.

Family: Pearl was married to James Campbell for 55 years until his death in 1989. They had four children. including one set of twins. Her father died while she was in high school.

Career: Pearl taught one year in grade school where she met James Campbell, the Principal; one year in high school just after college graduation; seven years at Hungtingdon College, Montgomery, Alabama; one year at the University of Illinois filling a leave of absence; one year at Iowa Wesleyan College at Mount Pleasant, after which her husband, Jim, urged her to go for the doctorate. After three years as a graduate assistant at Cornell University, Pearl taught at Boynton Jr. High in Ithaca, New York to help the firstborn afford to go to state college.

 After she received her doctorate in 1969, Pearl came to the New York State Education Department's Bureau of Home Economics as an Associate Supervisor. She retired in 1980.

Volunteer Activities/Middle Years: Martin Luther King March 1963, accompanied by her son and minister; MLK March 1983, accompanied by minister and by the 17 year old daughter of an Albany lawyer. She was a member of NAACP, along with her husband, all of her adult life, and served on the Board of Directors in Albany many years, and as vice-president for one term. The Campbells were charter members of Americans Against Nuclear War, and worked actively in meetings and in lobbying the Legislature. She was a member of the New York State Legislative Forum.

Volunteer Activities/Senior Years: In 1980, upon retirement, Pearl served with Jim, on the Capital Area Council of Churches (CACC) nine years as co-chair, with Jim, of the Peace and Justice Forum, and eight years as chair since his death. She and Jim were elected by CACC Board to be its' representatives with the Albany Area Labor/Religion Coalition. Pearl still serves in this capacity. In the early '80's Pearl chaired a Hiroshima Day program outside the State Capitol to express sorrow for that bombing. The Campbells participated in Peace Marches, picket limes against low wages, dismissals from jobs, inadequate and rundown housing, and protests against Niskayuna' s weapons plant. They joined the Peace Advocacy Group for a banner display surrounding the New York State Capitol building. Other local groups Pearl has long been associated with are the Capital Area Chapter of the United Nations Association - USA, Church Women United, and the Interfaith Women's Observance (Planning Committee). She recently served a four-year term on the Cornell University Human Ecology Alumni board. Since its inception Pearl has participated in the Capital Area Labor/Religion Coalition annual 40-Hour Fast to protest mistreatment of migrant farm workers. She is now serving on the Board of Directors of South Mall Towers, a low-income housing project and is a former member of the Personnel and Executive Committees of the Albany United Methodist Society, an inner-city service group. Pearl is a member of the Interfaith alliance, Save the Pine Bush, Sierra Club, and several other environmental groups, and Campaign for a Living Wage.

Key Characteristics: Dr. Campbell has been a loyal member of the church her entire life, a friend to many over the years.