Dr. Jerry M. Wallace

Biography

Dr. Jerry M. Wallace served as Campbell University’s fourth president for 12 years before stepping down from the position on June 30, 2015. Today, as chancellor, he advises President Creed and other senior leaders on university initiatives.

An ordained Baptist minister and a Rockingham, North Carolina native, Wallace joined Campbell in 1970 as an adjunct sociology professor while serving as a pastor of Elizabethtown Baptist Church. He began teaching full time at Campbell in 1975 and went on to serve as chair of the Department of Religion and Philosophy, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, director of graduate studies, and vice president for academic affairs and provost.

He was named Campbell’s fourth president in May 2003 following the retirement of longtime president Dr. Norman Adrian Wiggins.

During Wallace’s 12 years as president, Campbell’s enrollment jumped to over 6,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The university also expanded its health programs to complement its pharmacy school and address the shortage of health professionals in North Carolina. When the Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine opened in the Leon Levine Hall of Medical Sciences in August 2013 with 160 students, it was North Carolina’s first new medical school in 35 years.

Other health programs started during Wallace’s presidency include the physician assistant, public health, physical therapy, and nursing programs.

Wallace earned his bachelor’s degrees in English and government from East Carolina University, his Bachelor of Divinity and Master of Theology degrees from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Master of Science in sociology and a Doctor of Education from North Carolina State University.

He and his wife, Betty Blanchard Wallace, have three children: McLain Wallace, Kelly McLamb, and Betty Lynne Johnson. They also have five grandchildren: Wallace, Catherine Stuart, Elizabeth, Isaac and Ronald Joseph.