Roy G. Campbell combined the grit of a hard-nosed reporter with the compassion of a confidant and father figure … perfect attributes to serve as the Northern Star’s adviser through the tumultuous 1960s.

“Roy was a father to many of us,” Ray Gibson, one of Campbell’s prized students, said in the Star’s recent centennial magazine. “He nurtured more than professionalism and was always there with a shoulder to cry on or just to lend an ear.”

Roy was born May 25, 1925 in Provo, Utah. After high school, he joined the Navy in 1943 and was stationed in Pensacola, Fla. until the end of World War II in 1945.

He received his college degree from Utah State. In 1951, he earned a graduate degree from the journalism school at Northwestern University.

Roy began working with the Lincoln Star in Nebraska in 1951. He worked there for six years, cultivating his love for journalism. He then decided to return to school for his doctoral degree at Northwestern. At the same time, he worked as a reporter for the Chicago Daily News.

In June 1961, Roy accepted the adviser position with the Northern Star. He would guide the Star for a decade until dying of a heart attack in 1971 at age 45.

Roy’s commitment to the Star was seen every day, whether he was helping pursue a story or advising students on how to become better journalists.

“He was a maverick and a grizzled veteran, but he was a great news man,” said Mike Korcek, former Star sports editor. “He taught news judgment and would broaden your mind. He did things the old-fashioned way and taught the tricks in journalism.”

Under Roy’s guidance, the Star received seven Associated Collegiate Press awards. In 1966, the National Council of College Publications Advisers named Roy the nation’s outstanding college newspaper adviser.

After his death, NIU honored Roy by renaming the Star office Campbell Hall. Each time the Star has moved, the “Campbell Hall” plaque has moved, too. It now occupies a position of prominence in the Star’s Campus Life Building offices.

Roy’s family includes his wife, Jeanne, two daughters, Pat and Katie, and two sons, Keith and Scott. He has one granddaughter, Kate Campbell Randolph.