She had been dean of students at two colleges, served on the Arlington Board of Education, taught Latin at the National Cathedral School, and raised two children and two stepchildren. But when Willard Kiplinger suggested that she oversee the first educational television station awarded by the FCC to the washington area, Campbell, ever the teacher, jumped at the challenge.

Campbell and the fledgling Greater Washington Educational Television Association had to prove television's ability to teach. She enlisted local science teachers to do A Time for Science - a program shown on commercial TV to fifth- and sixth-grade classes. The show's success encouraged her to ask the FCC to create a new channel. WETA went on the air on October 4, 1961.

Early on, Campbell served as producer, fundraiser, and lobbyist for WETA. Today the station reaches over a million households each week, has the highest percentage of viewers who provide financial support in the country, and is the third-largest producer in the Public Broadcasting System. Its award-winning efforts include washington Week in Review, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, and The Civil War. And while she is pleased with the adult audiences WETA attracts, Campbell is proudest of programs aimed at supporting elementary education.

As vice president for community affairs, Campbell still serves on the board and on the staff of WETA. Now 93, she comes in to the office or calls in every day. Recognized nationwide as a public-television pioneer, she has never taken a penny in salary but feels she has been richly compensated: WETA, the station she founded, is still teaching, reaching more and more people where they live and learn.