NEWS

(​Editors’ note: We are thrilled that one of our own, Captain Jane Campbell (ret) received the Algernon Sydney Award at Davidson’s graduation ceremony. We are well aware of Jane’s leadership, organizational skills, and determination, as Jane is one of the founders of News of Davidson. Without Jane, this source of community information and news would not exist. This dedication to our efforts, as well as to many others that you will read below, makes Jane the perfect recipient for this award. Congrats, Jane! We are proud to be your friends and colleagues.)

Captain Jane Campbell (ret) ’87

Selected by the Honorary Degrees Committee and affirmed by the faculty, the award goes to persons who have given unselfish service without due recognition. Two awards are presented each year, one to a community member and one to a graduating senior.

The 2024 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Community Award goes to someone who epitomizes servant-leadership.

They grew up in a military family and lived around the world before arriving at Davidson College as a student in the fall of 1983. After graduation and working briefly for the college, they followed in their father’s footsteps, serving 26 years in the U.S. Navy and retiring as a Navy Captain in 2015. They served on three ships, and their shore assignments ranged from Afghanistan to the White House.

Upon retirement, they moved to Davidson with their spouse, and became an active advocate for affordable housing. As regular Habitat for Humanity volunteer, they have worked on homes in Cornelius, Huntersville, Mooresville and Davidson.

Our community recipient has also played an integral role in Room in the Inn. Through this program, which was originally envisioned by a Davidson student in 1998, area churches and other groups offer unhoused neighbors a warm place to spend the night. Our recipient has enlisted community volunteers and Davidson College students to set up beds, pick up our guests in Charlotte, offer dinner and hospitality, provide breakfast, a bagged lunch, and a return trip to Charlotte.

For the better part of a decade, the Room in the Inn program has been run on Friday evenings during the cold winter months of December through March at Davidson College Presbyterian Church. In the past several years, our community recipient has recruited additional volunteers so the program could expand from Fridays to Thursdays and Fridays.

In considering nominations for this honor, careful consideration is given to community members who have given unselfish service without due recognition. That means, in most cases, the person is actually surprised to hear their name announced. And getting them here to the ceremony requires a special kind of invitation.

We were pretty confident today’s recipient would be in attendance, because it is hard to remember a significant college or town event where our winner was not present to take photos for the non-profit website News of Davidson.

At the recommendation of the Honorary Degrees Committee and with the approval of the faculty, Davidson College is proud to bestow the 2024 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Community Award to Jane Elizabeth Campbell ‘87.