David P. Campbell

BS '55, General Science
MS '58, Psychology
Colorado Springs, Colo.

David P. Campbell (’55 general science, MS ’58 psychology) is an internationally recognized expert and leader in two domains—career assessment and organizational leadership. His career spans more than half a century and includes the development of some of the most widely used psychological surveys in the world.
Campbell joined the University of Minnesota faculty in 1960 after earning his PhD there. He earned tenure in three years and made full professor five years later, at age 34. In 1973, he was invited to join the newly established Center for Creative Leadership, a nonprofit leadership training center, as a visiting fellow, and six months later he was appointed executive vice president. In his 24 years with the center, he has watched it grow from 25 staff members and a $750,000 budget to more than 525 staff members in five U.S. and international locations and a $60 million budget. He founded the branch in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he now resides, and currently serves as the center’s H. Smith Richardson Senior Fellow.

Campbellrose to international prominence in career assessment in 1974 when he published the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory, which immediately became the career inventory of choice. It was the result of his collaboration with E.K. Strong, a legendary figure in vocational interest inventories, and a project that Campbell completed following Strong’s death.

Campbell recently published a new psychological test battery, the Campbell Development Surveys™, which includes individual surveys designed to analyze working situations, skills, leadership potential, teamwork, and working satisfaction. He is the author of several popular books, including If You Don’t Know Where You’re Going, You’ll Probably End Up Somewhere Else, and he has presented lectures and programs to corporations and universities throughout the world.

His honors include the E.K. Strong, Jr., Gold Medal for excellence in psychological testing research, an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Colorado, the Distinguished Professional Contributions Award from the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and the Distinguished Psychologist in Management Award from the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. He was an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of London in 1978 and a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Air Force Academy in 1986. Also in 1986, Campbell received the Citation of Merit from Iowa State’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Campbell is a life member of the ISU Alumni Association and is a past member of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean’s Advisory Committee.