The University Laboratory Building has officially been renamed the Rochelle and Allison Campbell Hall in honor of the Campbell family. The Campbell family consists of Neil Campbell, Rochelle Campbell and Allison Campbell. A ceremony was held on Oct. 19 to celebrate the building’s renaming.
Throughout the years, the Campbell family has made many contributions to UCR. Rochelle Campbell is the widow of the late Neil Campbell, who was known for his textbook, “Biology.” Their daughter Allison is a member of the UCR Foundation Board of Trustees.
Kathryn Uhrich, the dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Agriculture (CNAS), elaborated on why the building was renamed. “In renaming the building, we recognize the scientific impact of the Campbells – the Campbell Biology textbook is surely amongst the best-selling texts. We recognize the educational impact – students in Campbell Hall are exposed to innovative education in labs overseen by world-renowned scientist, Professor Sue Wessler. And we recognize the societal impact – a building named after a mother-daughter team. Overall, amazing!”
In 2004, Rochelle Campbell created the “Neil Allison Campbell Endowed Research Award” in honor of her late husband, Neil A. Campbell. This award was established to support summer or academic term internships for CNAS undergraduate students.
In 2010 Rochelle Campbell established the Neil A. Campbell Learning Laboratory on the ground floor of the University Laboratory Building for experimental research. Undergraduates as well as visiting K-12 students have the opportunity to access laboratory facilities in the building.
In 2018 Rochelle Campbell and Susan Wessler, a distinguished professor of genetics at UCR and the Campbell presidential chair (a position that was created in 2014 by the Campbell family), developed the Campbell-Wessler Endowed Undergraduate Research Award for undergraduate students of CNAS to support summer research which is associated with the Neil A. Campbell Science Learning Laboratory and the Dynamic Genome Program. The Dynamic Genome Program is a three part program that includes a Biology 20 course, summer research program, and a place for K-12 students to visit and learn.
