After two years at Oklahoma A&M, Wanda came to Northwestern State College to get her degree in elementary education and Don attended school to work toward a degree of his own. Wanda graduated in 1957 and took a job in Perry, Okla. which allowed Don to complete his education at Oklahoma State University and pursue a career in Ag. Ed. Don taught Ag. Ed. for nine and half years in Plains, Kan. as well as Jet and Nash, Okla.
On September 30, 1964, Don and Wanda were blessed with a beautiful baby girl, Candace DeAnn. Already enriched with the agriculture and northwest Oklahoma lifestyle, Candace took a strong liking to horses.

“From the time she was two years old she loved horses,” Don said. “She was a very sweet little girl.”

Showing and riding horses was a passion that would stay with young Candace for the rest of her life. Even when she knew that she would not be able to compete at the state horse show, she still competed at districts and qualified in five events with a horse she liked to call Trigger.

“She loved those horses and would work with them all the time, “Wanda said. “She liked to meet new people and made friends really easy. She was a happy child.”

Tragically, Candace died in a car accident when she was just sixteen years old. The Campbell’s see this chair in agriculture as a way to keep her memory alive.

“We were told that this was the best way to use our money,” Wanda said. “We can help the students and remember Candace at the same time.”

Agriculture education is growing all across the state of Oklahoma and the call for quality teachers in agriculture programs has dramatically increased. Northwestern already has a strong agriculture program, but not a means to produce teachers. After two or three years students must transfer elsewhere to complete their Ag Ed. degrees. The Campbell chair is a huge boost to the Northwestern Agriculture program.

“It has been a pleasure working with Don and Wanda on this project. It is clearly evident that they have a passion for education, students, and agriculture,” Skeeter Bird, Northwestern Foundation Executive Director said. “Their decision to give $250,000 to the Endowed Chair program, once it is matched by the state, will create a lasting endowment of over $500,000.”

Currently, Oklahoma high schools are frequently forced to hire alternatively certified people to teach high school students. This is not a perfect long-term solution because agriculture teachers now need to know to how handle situations inside as well as outside the classroom.

Northwest Oklahoma has some of the best Ag. teachers there are and we have some of the best resources to do this,” Dr. Steve Lohmann, Executive Vice-President of Academic Affairs at Northwestern said.

Lohmann went on to say that Northwestern is the prime location for agriculture and that with the money from the Campbell chair Northwestern could add to the agriculture program people who could recruit and also teach. He was extremely excited about the funds so generously donated by Don and Wanda.

“I’m ecstatic!” Lohmann said. “We are moving forward with this program and it takes people like the Campbells to see the vision and say this is what Northwestern needs and we are here to help. This shows that Northwestern is doing its part to get this program going and we can’t do it without their help. They have made the best impact on the students and making this investment in the youth is the best thing they could have done for western Oklahoma.”

“The Campbells are providing an important gift at an important time for Northwestern,” said Dr. Janet Cunningham, president. “We are moving forward to bolster our already successful agriculture program by adding an agriculture education component and this commitment by the Campbells will aid this effort significantly. I am so appreciative of their support for Northwestern and their willingness to invest in the future agriculture leaders of tomorrow.”