Date:
11/21/2002
Contact: Wendel Sloan at 505.562.2253
Reporter: Colleen Wright
PORTALES – Dr. John Campbell, assistant professor of communication at Eastern New Mexico University, says that it was his interest in finding out about New Mexico and the reputation of the Communication Department that brought brought him to Portales last May to apply for a teaching position at ENMU. While double-majoring in psychology and philosophy at Beloit College in Wisconsin, Dr. Campbell discovered his interest in broadcasting while working as a disc jockey for the campus radio station. Not quite sure what he wanted to do when he graduated, he eventually decided to pursue a career in broadcasting because of the passion he had developed from his college radio experience.
As fate would have it, he took his first job in broadcasting at a station in Corpus Christi, Texas. That began a lifelong career of working and teaching in the communications field.
Dr. Campbell also has another passion – travel. With a father who was a career military officer, he was able to experience living throughout the U.S. and overseas. He lived in Japan at the ages of five and six and developed an interest in Asian culture. "To this day I still have very vivid memories of Japan," Dr. Campbell says."I loved everything about it, the busy streets, the giant buddhas, the cherry blossoms, and Mount Fuji."
After working in Corpus Christi for several years, Dr. Campbell moved on to television stations in Wisconsin, California, and Louisiana. Eventually, he returned to a part of the world that he had often thought of: Asia and the Pacific Rim. He was able to do this because he had taken a job for a few years on the island of Guam as the news director for a television station. From here, he was able to revisit Japan and other countries in the region. After Guam, he then went to Hong Kong for two years as a senior producer for a major television station.
Upon his return to the United States, Dr. Campbell began an academic career by going to Ohio State University as a teaching assistant and getting his master's degree. Eventually, he got his Ph.D. from Ohio University and wrote a dissertation on how American television news portrays China.
Although Dr. Campbell loves broadcasting, he also loves teaching because of the "personal contact with students and the importance of education." Before coming to ENMU, Dr. Campbell taught at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Of living in the rural area of Portales, he says, "I like the peace and quiet and not having to battle traffic and parking to get to work."
Dr. Campbell says he appreciates the many experiences he has had from broadcasting and travel. He explains, "I try to encourage all of my students to explore other places to expand their geographical and cultural perspectives – and to pursue their dreams."
Dr. Campbell says that he enjoys sharing his broadcast knowledge with students, but about the possibility of one day returning to full-time broadcasting, he says, "I can never say never."
Dr. John Campbell, assistant professor of communication, has turned his love for broadcasting into an opportunity to visit the sites of his second passion – Asian culture. (photo by Colleen Wright)