Friends and family will gather to remember and celebrate the life of Cole Campbell, dean of the Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism, at a public memorial service, 9:30 a.m., Jan. 24, in Nightingale Hall on the Reno campus. A reception will follow in the lobby of the School of Journalism building. Campbell died Jan. 5 from injuries sustained in a traffic accident.

"University and journalism faculty and staff are deeply moved by the outpouring of grief from those who knew him," Rosemary McCarthy, academic chair for the School of Journalism said.

"The phone calls, emails, cards and personal visits are a tribute to his personality, character and influence. Cole brought an acute intellectual rigor to the work that we do here. He wrapped it in a real sense of fun and wonder about what journalism is and will be in the future. His excitement about the work, what it means and why it matters were infectious."

Campbell, former editor of both The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk, Va., became dean of the School of Journalism in July 2004.

Heather Hardy, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, said, "Cole was a truly excellent colleague and good friend. He was an important force on the Council of Deans. He had a striking ability to think creatively about solutions to problems and to synthesize and summarize the key points of a discussion"

"He brought to the job a great sense of humor, a keen mind, a generous spirit, courage, humility, and the perspective of the professional world that was enlightening. The Council of Deans will be diminished by his absence, and I will miss him a great deal."

Campbell was an author or editor of three books and published dozens of journal articles, book chapters, publications and reports. He earned his bachelor's degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1975. He was recently elected to the Board of Trustees of the Charles F. Kettering Foundation in Dayton, Ohio, a research foundation rooted in the American tradition of inventive research.

He was a member of the Board of Visitors at the College of Communication and Information Sciences at the University of Alabama. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees at KNPB public television station in Reno.

An additional memorial service is scheduled for Campbell at 1 p.m., Jan. 13 in the George Watts Hill Alumni Center at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The center is located on Stadium Drive at Ridge Road in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Campbell is survived by his wife, Catherine, and son, Clarke, both of Reno, and daughter, Claire, of Brooklyn, N.Y. Donations may be made to the Cole Campbell Memorial Fund; University of Nevada, Reno Foundation; Mail Stop 162; Reno, NV 89557.