VITA

William Sydney Campbell, or ‘Bill’, as everyone who knows him calls him, was born in Aldergrove, Northern Ireland, son to Alexander and Mary Campbell, middle brother to Doreen and Pam. The Campbells come from a long line of Presbyterian farmers in Northern Ireland, owning land and cattle on the banks of Loch Neagh, the largest fresh water lake in Ireland. The modest farmhouse and outbuildings Bill was brought up in enjoyed views directly across the loch, affording endless peace and quiet; it was and is a haven of natural beauty. Bill’s love of the countryside was such that he was never far from it. Thus, he shared a keen interest in bird watching with some of his lifelong friends, whom he met while at the Friend’s School in Lisburn.

Bill was adventurous, and from early on developed wide interests. Breaking family tradition Bill did not become a farmer, instead completing a BA in English Literature, before spreading his wings to embark on studying theology at Union Theological College, at Queen’s University. Before completing his studies there he spent a year at Princeton Theological Seminary, NJ, an experience which proved to have a decisive influence on his later academic career. Upon his return he married Edith Kathleen Hyndman (Kay), one of the few female students in the medical school. The two had got to know each other earlier during their studies at Queen’s. The highly sociable person he is, Bill was very engaged in social and sport activities as student, serving as president of the Christian Union and being a member of the badminton and cross- country teams. Nevertheless his academic interests led him to earn a BD from Trinity College Dublin as well as the University of London, alongside intensive commitments to preaching during his studies.

Union Theological College

Trinity College Dublin

Early employment came in the guise of being a minister in Killyleagh, County Down, but intellectually Bill was drawn to academia. After four fruitful years he thus left parish work and for three years worked towards earning his PhD at New College, University of Edinburgh, of which he spent three semesters researching at the University of Tübingen. In due course, he took up his first lectureship at – what was to become – the University of Sunderland in the north east of England, where Bill progressed from being a lecturer in New Testament to senior lecturer in Humanities.

After five years in the north east of England, the family moved to the midlands where Bill was appointed Head of Religious and Theological Studies at Westhill College, a Free Church College of Higher Education, and part of the Selly Oak Colleges federation.

Whilst at Westhill, Bill enjoyed the warmest of relationships with colleagues at the local Birmingham Roman Catholic Theology Department at Newman College (now University), forming close friendships with successive heads of the Theology Department, initially Fr Dr Arthur McCrystal, followed by Dr Martin O’Kane. Bill moreover was instrumental with SOC President Professor John Ferguson, in the setting up of the Centre for the Study of Judaism and Jewish-Christian Relations at the Selly Oak Colleges. In Westhill itself, Bill created a B.Ed degree with Islamic Studies as a main subject with the appropriate approval for qualified teaching status. This was no mean achievement and gave many young Muslim women (as well as men) access to a career that might otherwise have eluded them. This venture was later followed by a full BA degree in Islamic Studies. This openness to other faiths and at Bill’s instigation transformed Westhill as an institution into one where widening participation and being open to students of all faiths or none became an accepted policy.
In the City of Birmingham Bill served for 14 years (1984-98) as the chairman of the Council of Christians and Jews.

Eventually it was his record of research publications that facilitated his move to King’s College, London and finally to the University of Wales, Lampeter (now University of Wales, Trinity Saint David). In his research endeavour, Bill has been joined by his second wife, Dr Kathy Ehrensperger who was a fellow New Testament scholar at the University.

By Marius C. Felderhof and Alison Dunne (published version here).

William S. Campbell was a Reader in Biblical Studies at the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David (formerly Lampeter) from 1998-2016.