Photo by John Russell
Nancy Campbell, MD’01, grew up in Wilmot, Arkansas; population then: 700. “If you really wanted to go to college, and your parents could afford it, you went to boarding school,” said Campbell, who attended St. Catherine’s School in Richmond, Virginia. “In my town, there were six children in my class and only one girl my age. At St. Catherine’s, I was suddenly surrounded by people who were my age and liked academics. It was a complete joy.”
After high school, Campbell wanted to attend architecture school, “but my mother was determined I was going to Vanderbilt,” she said. “So, I did; because that was back in the day when you did what your parents told you to do.”
The summer before her freshman year, she met Roy Campbell, a junior at Davidson College in North Carolina. Two years later, her phone rang.
“It was Roy saying, ‘I met you two years ago. Would you like to go out?’ she said. “He lived in Greenville, Mississippi, about 50 miles from where I grew up. He drove over, picked me up for the date, and we were together from then on.”
Campbell’s affinity for math and science put her on a premed path. She received her bachelor’s degree in 1975, married Roy, and they moved to Greenville.
“They didn’t have a medical school, so I decided I would get involved in life there,” she said. “I wanted to do good, and there were certainly lots of ways to get involved.
She worked on a National Council of Negro Women after-school program for at-risk girls, volunteered with the Symphony League, raised three daughters and took courses at the local community college. When the last daughter left for school, Campbell considered her future.
“Roy said, ‘You should have gone to medical school. That’s what you should do,’” Campbell said. “Immediately, I said, ‘Oh no, I’m too old.’”
She retook organic chemistry at the community college to see if it sparked anything.
“Once I was back on the premed track, I decided to apply to medical school,” she said. “Amazingly, several schools offered me admission; Vanderbilt was, by far, the best.”
Campbell entered Vanderbilt University School of Medicine when she was 44, graduating at 48.
“I appreciate Vanderbilt taking me on as a student because I was outside the norm,” she said. “It was just a wonderful spot. If you’re lucky, you get to spend your 40s surrounded by brilliant, kind, energetic 20-year-olds.”
Campbell finished her residency at Vanderbilt when she was 51, moved to Jackson, Mississippi, and practiced internal medicine for 20 years. After retirement, the Campbells moved to New Canaan, Connecticut, to be closer to their daughters.
“New Canaan is like camp for old people,” she said. “You get up every day, and there are 30 different things you could do. I’m much happier when I’m busy, which is what got me to medical school in the first place. I used to tell people I thought I needed to be busier, then I overcorrected.”