WSU Pharmacy Professor R. Keith Campbell to retire

By Lori J. Maricle, College of Pharmacy
 
Keith Campbell, WSU College of PharmacySPOKANE, Wash. – Longtime faculty member and expert on diabetes management R. Keith Campbell is retiring this fall after 45 years in the College of Pharmacy at Washington State University. Campbell plans to continue to work on the Pullman campus as a faculty emeritus. Campbell will be honored at a retirement celebration October 5 at the Spokane Club.
 
“It is very difficult to encapsulate Keith Campbell’s impact on the College of Pharmacy and the profession because it is so immense,” said Professor John White, a longtime colleague of Campbell’s and the interim chair of the Pharmacotherapy Department, where both work. “Keith has utilized his intelligence, wonderful sense of humor, easy going manner, encyclopedic memory of people’s names and lives —  along with his innate desire to help people — to create a wide wake of positive change in the lives of many.”
 
White said he is still amazed when he walks with Keith through any airport in the country or attends professional meetings with him at how many people know Keith.
 
“People come from every direction and walk of life to shake his hand, hug him, and thank him for something that he has done for them,” White said.
 
Campbell grew up in Spokane Valley, Washington. He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 8 and devoted most of his career to diabetes education. Campbell graduated from WSU in 1964 with a pharmacy degree. After four years of working as a pharmacist, he was hired by WSU in 1968. Over the next 45 years, Campbell would serve as a program administrator, professor, director, student advisor, and even many years as associate dean of student service. In 1972, he received an MBA from WSU and began teaching a management course. He was director of continuing education for 28 years.
Campbell was the first pharmacist elected to the American Diabetes Association board of directors and he was one of the 17 founding members of the American Association of Diabetes Educators. He hosted a weekly radio talk show “Ask Your Pharmacist” that ran nationally for just over a year, and more recently he has written for a periodic online blog on diabetes management through http://DiabetesProductSource.com.
 
Campbell has received national awards for impacting the practice of pharmacy and diabetes care. He was the first recipient of the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the WSU College of Pharmacy, and received numerous teaching awards from WSU and College of Pharmacy students including the student-nominated Teacher of the Year on four occasions.
 
The retirement gala for Campbell will benefit the R. Keith Campbell Endowed Scholarship in Pharmacy. More details about the event, including purchasing tickets, can be found at: http://www.pharmacy.wsu.edu/apps/rkcgala/
 
The College also has an endowed professorship in Campbell’s name. To donate to the R. Keith Campbell Endowed Professorship in Diabetes Care, or the R. Keith Campbell Endowed Scholarship Fund, contact the WSU College of Pharmacy at 509-368-6675, or gocougs@pharmacy.wsu.edu.