WENDELL JEROME CAMPBELL

April 27, 1927 -   July 9, 2008

Wendell Campbell, nationally recognized architect and urban planner, passed away peacefully Wednesday, July 9, 2008.  Mr. Campbell was 81 years old.

Born on April 27, 1927 Mr. Campbell grew up in East Chicago, IN the fourth of six children. He was often called to work alongside his father, a carpenter, who demanded perfection in every project.  Upon graduation from high school in 1945 as a National Honor Society Scholar, he was sent to Japan during WWII where he served as Master Sergeant of a combat engineer regiment that designed roads and bridges.  Following fourteen months of service Mr. Campbell was honorably discharged and he returned home to study architecture.  Mr. Campbell was the recipient of several scholarships and he graduated from the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1957 with a B.A. in Architecture and City Planning.

Known for his quiet, tenacious will and unwavering vision, Mr. Campbell was instrumental in diversifying the canvas of  professionals  practicing architecture in the United States.  Mr. Campbell began his architectural career in 1956 working as both an architect and urban planner before launching his own firm, Wendell Campbell Associates (WCA), in 1966.

 Wendell Campbell Associates , which was later named Campbell and Macsai (1971-1975) and renamed  Campbell Tiu Campbell (in recognition of partners Domingo Tiu and  Campbell's daughter Susan's contributions to the firm) was an incubator of architectural talent, an office that brought  young professionals and veterans from myriad ethnic backgrounds together to produce 40 years of award winning residential and commercial design.  Over the course of his venerable career, Mr. Campbell oversaw hundreds of design and planning projects including:  The McCormick Place Expansion, DuSable Museum of African-American History, the New Bronzeville Military Academy, Metcalf Federal Building, Trinity United Church, restoration of the Michigan Avenue Draw Bridge and residential plans for U.S. embassies in Saudi Arabia and Gabon, and redevelopment plans for such cities as New Orleans, Las Vegas, Detroit, Chicago, Gary and Milwaukee.

Faced with a business climate that largely excluded substantive minority participation in  private and public projects, Mr. Campbell worked ingenuously to both raise the profile of minority architects within the industry and create greater educational and economic opportunities for minority design firms around the country.  In 1971 Campbell was a founder and the first president of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA).  He was awarded the prestigious Whitney Young Medal of Honor by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1972 for his “significant contribution to the social responsibility of the architectural profession” and designated as a fellow of the AIA in 1979. 

In addition to running his firm, Mr. Campbell served extensively on the boards of numerous civic and professional organizations. His easy manner and personal philosophy, “There are no such things as problems, just undiscovered solutions”, made him a popular choice of organizations area-wide.  Mr. Campbell served on the board of the Illinois Chapter of NOMA, the Cosmopolitan Chamber of Commerce, Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, the Black Ensemble Theater, the Chicago Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the Chicago Architectural Assistance Center and the South Side YMCA. He was a member of the Chicago's Capital Improvement Advisory Council and the city's Committee on Standards and Tests until his retirement from architecture in 2006.

In his occasional free time, Mr. Campbell pursued creative outlets that gave him time to mull over, undisturbed, the countless issues which were always part of his work.  He loved working with his hands, designing and building furniture, painting portraits, crafting flower arrangements of intricate symmetry and color, or building an all-weather doghouse for his two collies.  He could also be found stretched out on a sofa working a logic puzzle, swimming laps before dawn at the South Side YMCA, or watching a John Wayne western at home on a Sunday afternoon.

“Dee-Dee” as he was affectionately called by his granddaughters, will be remembered by his wife of 54 years, June Crusor Campbell, their daughters Susan Campbell-Smith (and husband Don Smith), Leslie Campbell  (and partner John Spieske), his granddaughters Lauren Smith, Maya Spieske, and Aliya Spieske, his grand sons Brian Smith and Brandon Smith, three siblings Dorothy Lawshe, Norman Campbell and Jean Martin multiple nieces and nephews, and eight decades of friends and family, innumerable professional colleagues, and his former employees who Mr. Campbell considered family and to whom he was particularly devoted.

If you would like to make a contribution to the Wendell Campbell Scholarship Fund at
The National Organization of Minority Architects

Please make checks payable to:
National Organization of Minority Architects
In memo line Wendell Campbell Scholarship
And mail them to:

NOMA
c/o School of Architecture and Design
College of Engineering, Architecture and Computer Science
Howard University
2366 6th Street, NW-Room 100
Washington D.C. 20059