{"id":134915,"date":"2020-08-05T10:48:16","date_gmt":"2020-08-05T14:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=134915"},"modified":"2020-08-05T13:48:05","modified_gmt":"2020-08-05T17:48:05","slug":"leigh-campbell-bates-obituary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2020\/08\/05\/leigh-campbell-bates-obituary\/","title":{"rendered":"Leigh Campbell &#8217;64, beloved Bates financial aid director with empathy and expertise, dies at age 79"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Leigh Payson Campbell \u201864, a longtime director of financial aid at Bates whose empathy and expertise engendered gratitude and loyalty among generations of Bates alumni, died on July 31, 2020, at age 79.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Appointed as director of financial aid in 1973, Campbell retired in 2016.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>President Clayton Spencer said in her announcement to the college community that Campbell was \u201can empathetic and expert financial adviser to thousands of students and their families\u201d who helped make the financial aid process \u201cless daunting. He showed students the path forward when they felt stuck, and instilled hope and confidence when there was fear and uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/08\/160611_Reunion_Annual-Meeting_0403-720x900.jpg\" alt=\"Presidential Address and Annual Gathering of the Alumni Association, held in the tent next to Garcelon Field.\" class=\"wp-image-134927\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/08\/160611_Reunion_Annual-Meeting_0403-720x900.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/08\/160611_Reunion_Annual-Meeting_0403-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/08\/160611_Reunion_Annual-Meeting_0403-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/08\/160611_Reunion_Annual-Meeting_0403.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><figcaption>Receiving the Helen A. Papaioanou \u201949 Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 2016, Leigh Campbell &#8217;64 wears the hat of his beloved Bates basketball team. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Campbell was born in Bath, Maine, and raised in Wiscasset, where he lived most of his life and where his father ran an American Oil Co. gas station and chaired the board of selectmen and his mother served as town treasurer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He was admitted to Bates, Bowdoin, and Colby out of Wiscasset Academy and chose Bates due to the connection he felt with legendary Dean of Admissions Milton Lindholm \u201935, who would later hire Campbell to his staff.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He majored in history and was active in student life, including four years as manager and scorer for the men\u2019s basketball team, a job that foreshadowed his long connection to the sport and its athletes. He also served as football team manager, president of the Choral Society, sportswriter for <em>The Bates Student<\/em>, and a proctor in Smith Hall.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After college, he taught public school in Maine and New Hampshire before being drafted into the U.S. Army and serving in Vietnam. He worked briefly as an accountant after his military service before joining the Bates staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bill Hiss \u201966, who served as dean of the Bates admission and financial aid offices from the late 1970s into the 1990s, says that Campbell&#8217;s effectiveness was partly due to his being a \u201cthoughtful and fair and reflective listener.&#8221; Importantly, that meant that parents and students always felt heard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;In all my years, I never once heard a student or parent tell me that Leigh did not offer them his full attention and his complete respect,&#8221; Hiss says. &#8220;They might complain about the amount of their award, but no student or parent ever said that Leigh was unwilling to listen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><em>An emotional Leigh Campbell receives the Alumni Association\u2019s Helen A. Papaioanou \u201949 Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 2016.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Leigh Campbell &#039;64 receives Distinguished Alumni Service Award at Reunion 2016\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/BUFBDgAVx00?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For some Bates parents, especially in the era before email and the internet, Campbell might be the only Bates person they ever spoke to. \u201cMy father knew two people at Bates: Leigh Campbell and my French adviser, Mary Rice-DeFosse,\u201d recalls Sean Findlen \u201899, chief communications officer at Bates. \u201cMy dad would be on the phone with Leigh for hours talking about our situation. He would get off the phone and say, \u2018I think we can make this work.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Vietnam, Campbell was the company clerk for a medical unit, like the fictional Radar O\u2019Reilly from the TV show <em>MASH<\/em>. Like the TV character, Campbell would, during his Bates career, work doggedly within the system to get things done for the people he cared deeply about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLeigh understood he was part of a system of rules and policies. He lived in a world of layers of regulation, and he knew how to work within that reality,\u201d said Hiss. \u201cLeigh did the work that Bates needed to be done. And did it brilliantly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among the generations of alumni who received Bates financial aid under Campbell&#8217;s watch \u2014 and benefited from his abilities \u2014 many will say, \u201cI would not be where I am today without Leigh Campbell.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Heather Beebe \u201985 is one. She recalls how, \u201con more than one occasion during my Bates tenure, I showed up at Leigh&#8217;s door, quite embarrassed, hat in hand. It was a terrible feeling having to ask for the money to stay at Bates.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut this awkwardness was immediately assuaged by Leigh&#8217;s empathy and compassion. We always came up with a solution that kept me feeling whole, reminding me that I was \u2014 and am \u2014 part of the greater Bates family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-bates-shortcodes-highlight highlight-box highlight-box-yellow\">\n<p><strong>&#8220;He has brought so much to Bates&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From 2007, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/magazine\/back-issues\/y2007\/fall07\/departments\/your-page\/\">this essay by longtime student dean James Reese<\/a> talks about his friendship with Leigh Campbell.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>While compassionate and solution-focused, Leigh was also a firm steward of the college&#8217;s resources, vigilant to ensure that scholarship aid went to families according to their financial need. \u201cHe was no pushover,\u201d says Wendy Glass, director of student financial services.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHe subscribed firmly to the belief that paying for college was a shared endeavor, with families being the first ones responsible, to the extent of their ability. While Leigh believed in the philosophy and integrity of the formula behind the need calculation, he was also guided by what families shared with him. Financial aid is an art and a science, and Leigh was a master practitioner of both.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cLeigh Campbell didn&#8217;t like the spotlight, but he was a steady, loyal, humble, and exemplary financial aid practitioner,\u201d says Ronald Milliken, director of financial aid at the University of Maine at Farmington and president of the Maine Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Attending various financial aid conferences in New England over the years, Milliken witnessed the high regard alumni had for Campbell in his \u201cwell-deserved following of Bates alumni, who would show up from surrounding areas at various conferences with tickets to sporting events and dinner excursions. It was quite evident that Leigh was beloved by many who he had served well over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leigh was a member of the Mount David Society and College Key, the college\u2019s leadership annual giving program and its honorary alumni organization, respectively. He received the Key\u2019s Distinguished Service Award for faculty and staff in 2005. The organization\u2019s scholarship program is now named the College Key Leigh P. Campbell Scholarship \u201964 Fund. In 2007 he received the Harward Center\u2019s Staff Award for Community Volunteerism and Leadership, and in 2016 the Alumni Association\u2019s Helen A. Papaioanou \u201949 Distinguished Alumni Service Award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Campbell was a sports fan, and including his student years, Leigh was the official scorer for the Bates men\u2019s basketball team for nearly 50 years, also scoring games for the women\u2019s teams at times. He was also a longtime scorekeeper for the Maine high school basketball tournament.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"699\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/08\/leigh-gromelski-900x699.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-134923\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/08\/leigh-gromelski-900x699.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/08\/leigh-gromelski-386x300.jpg 386w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/08\/leigh-gromelski-1536x1193.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/08\/leigh-gromelski-200x155.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/08\/leigh-gromelski.jpg 1919w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><figcaption>Leigh Campbell &#8217;64 in a familiar spot: at the scorer&#8217;s table keeping the Bates scorebook for a men&#8217;s basketball game, vs. Catholic University on Jan. 5, 2008. (Joe Gromelski &#8217;74)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>He was inducted into the Bates College Scholar-Athlete Society in 2012 for his \u201clifetime of service to this college, his bottomless love for Bates sports, and his unequaled decades of commitments to our basketball teams and friendships with our players.\u201d In 2019, he was inducted into the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame as a Legend of the Game.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When Jon Furbush &#8217;05 arrived at Bates from South Portland High School in the fall of 2001, Campbell was one of the first people he met. \u201cHe reached out, said he just wanted to introduce himself and offer any support that I needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen you meet a man like Leigh for the first time, you immediately think, \u2018Wow, this is such an amazing place with a lot of genuine people. I think a lot of people have Leigh to thank for how we feel about Bates.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While Furbush recalls the initial meeting, he did not make the connection that the guy who reached out to him was the guy who would score his Bates games. \u201cAs an 18 year old, the last thing you&#8217;re thinking about is like, who&#8217;s keeping the book at the table.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But slowly, Furbush understood what Campbell meant to Bates and his team, and how deep Campbell\u2019s knowledge ran when it came to Maine students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As Furbush\u2019s first season unfolded, he noticed how Campbell was always in Alumni Gym \u201csuper-early. I&#8217;d come in an hour and a half early to get my shots up and stretch and everything. And Leigh was there, getting all the names in the book and everything organized.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1919\" height=\"1373\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/08\/hlb_a41669-Leigh-Campbell.jpg\" alt=\"Images from the retirement celebration for Leigh Campbell '64, longtime financial aid administrator, held in Muskie Archives, Sept. 25, 2007.\n\nSpeakers at lectern are Sarah Potter '77, Richard Wagner (wearing cap), Bill Hiss '66, Wylie Mitchell, and James Reese. Also photographed is Milton Lindholm '35 and, presenting gift to Campbell, Wendy Glass.\n\nLeigh Campbell '64 expresses gratitude to Dean Emeritus of Admissions Milt Lindholm '35 after Milt offered remarks honoring Campbell's retirement, from full-time to part-time status, after 34 years as financial-aid director. The occasion was a reception in Muskie Archives in September, and looking on are former Admissions staffers Ginny Harrison and Fern Desjardins. Photograph by H. Lincoln Benedict '09.\" class=\"wp-image-134920\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/08\/hlb_a41669-Leigh-Campbell.jpg 1919w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/08\/hlb_a41669-Leigh-Campbell-400x286.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/08\/hlb_a41669-Leigh-Campbell-900x644.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/08\/hlb_a41669-Leigh-Campbell-1536x1099.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1919px) 100vw, 1919px\" \/><figcaption>Leigh Campbell &#8217;64 expresses gratitude to Dean Emeritus of Admissions Milt Lindholm &#8217;35 after Milt offered remarks honoring Campbell&#8217;s retirement, from full-time to part-time status, in September 2005 at Muskie Archives in September. (H. Lincoln Benedict &#8217;09 for Bates College).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>After a few games, Furbush had two thoughts. First was, \u201cWow, this is like a big deal for this guy.\u201d And the second was, \u201cHe&#8217;s one of us. He\u2019s doing his routine, and he\u2019s part of the program. And so it was early on, I realized he\u2019s a huge and important piece of the operation here in Bobcat basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In an oral history, Campbell explained why he loved scoring Bates games. Part of it was ability \u2014 he was good with numbers and details. But most of all, he wanted to participate in some way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAthletically, I wasn&#8217;t skilled enough to play, but I wanted to be part of the team,\u201d he said. \u201cI was good at it. You have to be \u2014 you have to have concentration to keep score of a game. You&#8217;ve got to write things down as they happen, and you have to be right, and you have to be ready to answer questions about it if necessary. For me, it was a chance to say, \u2018I was part of a team.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignwide size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1001\" height=\"490\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/08\/1964-basketball-Campbell-11.04.11-AM-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-134925\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/08\/1964-basketball-Campbell-11.04.11-AM-copy.jpg 1001w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/08\/1964-basketball-Campbell-11.04.11-AM-copy-400x196.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/files\/2020\/08\/1964-basketball-Campbell-11.04.11-AM-copy-900x441.jpg 900w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1001px) 100vw, 1001px\" \/><figcaption>Team manager Leigh Campbell &#8217;64 (left) poses with the 1964 men&#8217;s basketball team.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2008, when Furbush became the youngest head basketball coach in the NCAA, he made sure that Campbell would continue with the program. \u201cI was like, \u201cLeigh, I want you involved in every part of this. I would\u2019ve felt weird to get on the bus and Leigh Campbell wasn&#8217;t in the first seat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s been said that Campbell has been invited to more alumni weddings than almost any other Bates person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHe was at mine, and he was at my teammates\u2019 weddings,\u201d says Furbush. \u201cAnd that\u2019s because he was involved with not just the players, but parents of the players.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"wp-block-bates-shortcodes-highlight highlight-box highlight-box-yellow\">\n<p><strong>The Bobcast Remembers Campbell<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hear more <a href=\"https:\/\/gobatesbobcats.com\/podcasts\/bates-bobcast-episode-189-remembering-leigh-campbell-64\/50\">recollections from Jon Furbush &#8217;05 about Leigh Campbell <\/a>on this week&#8217;s Bates Bobcast.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p>With a laugh, he recalls planning the seating arrangements for his wedding reception dinner, and the question was where should Campbell sit. \u201cHe was like the easiest person to put at a table because he knew everybody who was going to be in the wedding. We&#8217;re like, \u2018Leigh is camouflage. We can put him any at any table here and he&#8217;s going to blend in and be great.\u2019\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Campbell was good at creating \u201cintentional experiences\u201d with his many friends, Furbush says, \u201cwhether it was going to a Red Sox game or going to the Final Four, or just doing things with people that he felt close with in his life, creating those memories with people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s a final memory from Furbush: \u201cLeigh had the best handshake of all time. He was not a big guy, but he would make sure he had the upper hand when he shook your hand. It was something that I always really enjoyed. Just shaking his hand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Campbell served as secretary and treasurer of the Maine Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and in 2007 became one of its few Lifetime Honorary Members. He was a member of the First Congregational Church Wiscasset UCC and the Wiscasset Fire Society.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Survivors include his brother, Terry Campbell; two nieces; several great-nieces; and their families. A celebration of Leigh\u2019s life will be held at a later date. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.daiglefuneralhome.com\/obituary\/Leigh-Campbell\">His obituary is available here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the college&#8217;s longtime financial aid director, Campbell &#8220;showed students the path forward when they felt stuck, and instilled hope and confidence when there was fear and uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":134923,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[7,24,14,11009],"tags":[5227],"class_list":["post-134915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-athletics","category-faculty-staff","category-the-college","tag-leigh-campbell"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/104"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134915"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134915\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":134954,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134915\/revisions\/134954"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}