Provost Peggy Agouris sent the following message to the campus community on May 19. – Ed.

Dear colleagues,

I write to share that Dr. Don Campbell, Professor Emeritus of Economics, passed away on April 30.

Prof. Campbell was a loving and gentle man, devoted to his family, quietly brilliant, and an outstanding scholar, teacher, and colleague. He received his B.A. in Economics from Queens University in Kingston, Ontario, in 1966. He earned his Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University in 1972. He began his career at the University of Toronto, rising to Full Professor before joining the William & Mary faculty in 1990 as the CSX Professor of Economics and Public Policy. Upon retirement in 2021, Prof. Campbell moved to Hamilton, Ontario to be closer to his family.

An eminent microeconomic theorist, Prof. Campbell was a leading scholar in the fields of mechanism design and social choice theory, regularly publishing in top journals. Prof. Campbell wrote three books: Resource Allocation Mechanisms; Equity, Efficiency, and Social Choice; and Incentives: Motivation and the Economics of Information. He immensely enjoyed teaching intermediate microeconomics, the economics of information, and incentives. He earned a reputation for teaching rigorous courses at an extremely high level. Students praised his availability and dedication, and his passion for teaching excellence that remained undiminished over time. He practiced what William & Mary preaches about melding teaching and research: his book Incentives came out of his course on the subject.

Prof. Campbell served William & Mary and the economics profession in countless ways. He served as a peer reviewer for leading journals and gave lectures in universities at home and abroad. He was an outstanding citizen of the W&M Economics Department. He will be remembered as one of the key advisors to students considering graduate study in economics. He served as the record-keeper for economics majors who go on to attend outstanding Ph.D. programs, a particular strength at William & Mary. He championed economics alums throughout their academic careers.

Prof. Campbell’s devotion to his family was always evident. He prioritized his wife Diane and their children. He talked enthusiastically about his grandchildren and their interests and reading habits. He was a jazz lover with an extensive record collection and enviable memories of hearing greats like Miles Davis live. Prof. Campbell was a calm, quiet, and gentle man whom our community will miss very much.

Sincerely,

Peggy