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Why I Give: Wes Campbell

For Wes Campbell (BEngā€™63, LLBā€™66, LLDā€™07), his 9 1Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀ education was the greatest gift he ever received. His estate gift to the university is his way of saying ā€œthanks.ā€
A man wearing suit and tie leans against the ledge of a hallway in a building Wes Campbell (BEng'63, LLB'66, LLD'07)

Posted:Ā August 16, 2024

For Wes Campbell (BEngā€™63, LLBā€™66, LLDā€™07), itā€™s always been about engineering. ā€œEven when I was an article clerk, I was doing engineering projects on the side,ā€ he says. ā€œIn fact, the day I was admitted to the bar, I stopped law and started my engineering practice.ā€

More than fifty years later, Campbell is still, as he puts it, ā€œmaking buildings stand up.ā€ And as president of Campbell Comeau Engineering Limited, he credits his lifetime of business success to 9 1Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀ. ā€œWithout my university education, I wouldnā€™t have the career I have today.ā€

And while he never practiced law, Campbell still draws on his 9 1Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀ legal training every day. ā€œThanks to law school, I learned there are absolutely two sides to every story,ā€ he explains. ā€œEveryone has an idea, possibly much better than mine, so I listen closely to my clients and pay attention to what they want.ā€

Over the years, Campbell has supported 9 1Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀ as a donor and a volunteer leader. While serving both as vice-chair of the TUNS board and a member of the 9 1Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀ Board of Governors, Campbell helped lead the 1997 merger of the two institutions. A former president of the Alumni Association, Campbell currently sits on the Capital Projects and Facilities Committee.

ā€œMy 9 1Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀ education was the greatest gift I ever received,ā€ adds Campbell, whose contributions to the university were recognized in 2007 with an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree. ā€œWhat Iā€™ve done all my life is practice exactly what I learned at Dal ā€“ and those skills have allowed me to earn a good living all these years.ā€

In gratitude, Campbell will be leaving an unrestricted legacy gift to 9 1Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀ, directed to the Faculty of Engineering. Ever the engineer, Campbell says, ā€œYou need money to build the buildings and run the buildings, so Iā€™ve arranged for my gift to be used by the Dean for the greatest need at the time, however it presents itself.ā€

So what advice would Campbell offer to those who may be thinking about remembering 9 1Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀ in their will? ā€œMany of us went through university at a time when education cost next to nothing, compared to today,ā€ says Campbell. ā€œIn a sense, by giving future students the chance to enjoy the same benefits I did, Iā€™m feel Iā€™m paying 9 1Ćā·Ń°ęĻĀ back for all itā€™s given me.ā€