Edwin D. Campbell

Edwin D. Campbell, A Leader in Boston Business and Education, dies.

Edwin Denton Campbell, 82, a respected and admired leader in Boston and national business and educational circles, died at his home in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts. The cause of death was complications due to vascular dementia. Mr. Campbell was born in Boston, MA. Larger than life in many ways, Mr. Campbell attended Boston Latin and English High School before enlisting in the United States Marine Corps in 1943 when he was 15 years old. As a member of the 4th Marine Division he fought in the Pacific Theater of Operations, participating in the battles of Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima and was in training for the invasion of Japan when World War II ended.

After the war, Mr. Campbell took advantage of the educational benefits of the GI bill attending the Bentley School of Accounting and Finance (now Bentley University), graduating with a diploma in accounting in 1948. He joined the public accounting firm of Arthur Andersen & Co. In 1953 he was named Vice-President of Laboratory for Electronics. In 1962 he was appointed Executive Vice President of Itek Corporation, an innovative optical and electronic technology company responsible for developing the Corona camera, the first satellite surveillance system.

The social, racial and political upheavals of the 1960s affected Ed Campbell deeply: he felt there was more to life than climbing another rung on a corporate ladder. In 1969 he entered the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Both the man and the institution took great risks but in 1975 he earned his Doctorate in Education, his one and only academic degree.

Ever the man for challenges, during his Harvard years he also served as President of Educational Development Center, a Newton, MA non-profit educational development organization founded to improve the quality of science and math education following the launch of the Sputnik satellite by the Russians. In 1976 Mr. Campbell was named President of Gulf Management Institute, a “university without walls” for Gulf Oil’s senior management. After the merger of Gulf Oil with Chevron, Mr. Campbell served as the Executive Vice-President of the National Alliance of Business, a Washington-based non-profit organization focusing on private sector training and jobs for the economically disadvantaged. In the 1980s he was Dean of the Schools of Business of Adelphi University and later was a Vice President of Educational Testing Service in Princeton, NJ, heading up ETS’s Center for Occupational and Professional Assessment (COPA). From 1990-1996 he served at the Executive Director of the Coalition of Essential Schools and the Annenberg Institute for School Reform both at Brown University, working to help bring about radical reform in teaching and learning in the nation’s schools. From 1997 through 2000 Mr. Campbell was a principal in Padanaram Associates. He served on the Boards of many organizations, both in the private and non-profit sectors: he was President of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts (1967-69), and Trustee Emeritus of both Bentley University and Educational Development Center.

Mr. Campbell‘s first two wives (Patricia Clements and Adele D. Campbell) pre-deceased him: he is survived by his wife of 36 years, Crystal Cousins Campbell. A family spokesman said: “There is another side of Edwin Campbell that many did not see. To his family he was a beacon, always supportive, always a presence, challenging each of us to do their best. He and Crystal built a life together centered on love of family and humanity. And in return we loved him deeply.” His surviving family includes his children and grand-children: Geraldine Campbell; Linda Campbell Tunnicliffe and husband, Edmund Tunnicliffe IV; David Campbell; Sean Lloyd and his wife, Sharon Elston, and Jennie (Lloyd) Kristel and her husband, Michael Watson; as well as nine grandchildren: Christopher, Stephanie, Matthew, Jessica, Rachel, Ian, Justin, Daniel and Robin and three great grandchildren.

In all organizations he was associated with, large and small, Mr. Campbell was a thoughtful and compassionate leader, a “hands-on” manager with a unique willingness to empower those working with him to develop their own leadership skills. He encouraged open exchanges but knew when and how to shoulder critical decisions. His dislikes were few: his likes and enthusiasms, many. Among the latter, the Marine Corps, which he felt gave him the discipline to lead and succeed; his family; his Marine Corp buddy Stan Evans and his wife Marcia; good Scotch; great sailing and quiet anchorages; the Unitarian/communitarian quest for meaning in life; and, all things Italian. His resonant voice soothed and embraced us. He will be sorely missed.


MEMORIAL SERVICE
Saturday - August 22, 2009 - 2:00 p.m.
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF SO. DARTMOUTH
17 Middle St.
So. Dartmouth, MA
508-993-6676
www.congochurchsd.org

INTERMENT
So. Dartmouth Cemetery
Elm St.
~ Private ~

GIFTS IN HIS NAME MAY BE MADE TO:
Bentley University
175 Forest St.,
Waltham, MA 02452
www.bentley.edu

Harvard Graduate School of Education
Appian Way
Cambridge, MA 02138
www.gse.harvard.edu

Marine Corps Heritage Foundation
3800 Fettler Park Drive, Suite 104
Dumfries, VA 22025
www.marineheritage.org

OBITUARY - NEWS
New Bedford Standard Times
Saturday - August 22, 2009
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009908220348

OBITUARY - NEWS
Boston Globe
Monday - August 31, 2009
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2009/08/31/edwin_d_campbell_dean_and_businessman/

Arrangements under the care of Glenn D. Burlamachi
CONCORD FUNERAL HOME
74 Belknap St.
Concord, MA 01742

Proud to be family owned, operated and occupied