We all start somewhere and for me that was Wichita, KS, what I consider to be my home town. While I was still in high school I took a few classes at the local community college and found that I really loved that environment. After graduating high school I enrolled at Wichita State University. One of my favorite courses at Cowley County Community College was an introductory Anthropology course and I've always loved History classes so I loaded up my undergraduate schedule with courses in those departments. I knew I wanted to major in Anthropology and pursued that degree from the start. But, I ended up taking so many History classes that my advisor suggested I get a double major in those two fields, so I did! I graduated with a Bachelors of Arts from Wichita State University.

One of my final undergraduate courses in Anthropology was a 500-level course called Paleoanthropology. That subject was cool, sure, but the professor was amazing! He changed the course of my life! 

Dr. Peer Moore-Jansen is a biological anthropologist, one of four sub-fields of anthropology (the others being archaeology, sociocultural, and linguistic anthropology). Dr. Moore-Jansen is a born teacher, too - one of those people that is interesting and engaging, full of wonderful and fantastic stories, warm, sincere, and a wealth of information. He suggested I continue my studies and work towards a Masters degree at Wichita State University. It was a big decision! I was working full time and knew that graduate school would require a substantial time and financial commitment. I was offered a position in Dr. Moore-Jansen's forensic anthropology lab and I of course said YES!

While working with Dr. Moore-Jansen in his lab and as his Teaching Assistant, I had the opportunity to work on several forensic cases, help to set up a decomposition study field site, begin my teaching career, supervise the lab, go on archaeological field schools in Texas and in Yellowstone, prepare and present research at regional and national conferences, and learn from a true mensch of men, Dr. Peer Moore-Jansen. My Master's thesis documented skeletal variation of the elbow (distal humerus, proximal radius, proximal ulna) for the purposes of group and sex determination of unidentified remains.

As I prepared to pursue a doctorate degree elsewhere, Dr. Moore-Jansen invited me to be a TA at the first bioarchaeological field school in Drawsko, Poland. It was a formative summer in many ways and I still think back to those excavations often and with great fondness.

My second graduate degree was earned from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Pursing this degree was another big life decision but I knew I wanted to obtain the highest degree possible in my field. I enrolled in classes and began dissertation research under the primary supervision of two now-emeritus professors, Dr. Robert Corruccini and Dr. Susan Ford. I learned a lot from these two individuals, including the details of dental anthropology, osteology, primate evolution, and statistics. Both of them were models of engaged, caring professors who offered words of encouragement and opportunities to hone my teaching skills. 

While at SIUC I took advantage of the chance to earn a Certificate of Anatomy through the School of Medicine. I took many basic science courses in a variety of departments and TA'd for several years. My favorite courses were human gross anatomy and histology. While I devoted hours and hours to studying anatomy to help the the first-year medical students, it was the hours of TA'ing histology with Dr. David King that I really look back on with fondness. Dr. King's approach to histology is wonderous - where most see this subject as boring drudgery, he treats it as a delightful opportunity to understand tissues and the human body. Dr. King and I are still friends, years later. We still share histology finds with one another! He has his own histology website, too!

In addition to TA'ing archaeological field schools for several summers at Kincaid Mounds and working for the Center for Archaeological Investigations as a survey tech on both Illinois and Indiana state and national forests, biological anthropology research projects at SIUC included skeletal and dental variation of human and baboon skulls in relation to hard and soft diets, morphological variation of the bony pelvis in relation to climate, body size, and obstetrical sufficiency, and of course my dissertation research itself which investigated cranial, dental, and post-cranial skeletal variation and mate exchange among Archaic-era hunter-gatherer human groups in the mid-South United States.

I have worked since I was 16 - my first job was at a local garden center where I did everything from sweep the floor, water and propagate plants, decorate hundreds of Christmas trees, answer customer questions, and work as the Secretary for the Landscaping division. I loved that job and still use the skills and knowledge I gained there! 

Throughout my undergraduate degree I worked full time. I was an Administrative Assistant in the Merchandising department for a large western-wear store and the Office Manager at a land-development company. I left those stable jobs to pursue graduate school where I worked consistently as a Lab Supervisor, Teaching Assistant, and Research Assistant. 

As I was finishing up my doctorate degree I took a job as an Anatomy Lab Assistant at Logan University in their Doctorate of Chiropractic program. I quickly moved to faculty rank once I defended and obtained my PhD. I taught Histology and Anatomy at Logan for just over six years. I expanded the Histology course significantly, taking it from a quick 8-week to a full trimester course in which I won over hundreds of students to the wonders of histology! 

At Logan, I was best-known for teaching and my skills in the anatomy lab. I assisted in all anatomy courses which included three trimesters (a whole year) to cover the entire body. I was lead instructor for the Head and Neck Anatomy lecture and lab, which was an absolute dream given my years of previous experience with the skull and human variation thereof. Even before covid-accommodations that made video instruction the norm, I created hundreds of instructional review videos, active learning modules, drawings, interactive quizzes and assignments, and a whole host of course materials. 

I served on the Faculty Senate Executive Board, led workshops at summer high-school anatomy camps, gave weekly tours of the anatomy lab, and won many teaching awards. 

In January of 2022, I joined the Center for Anatomical Science and Education (CASE) at St. Louis University (SLU) as an Assistant Professor. I am excited to work with this prestigious group and contribute to the anatomy and histology education of medical students, physician assistants, masters, doctoral, and undergraduate students!

In case you're interested or want to see what one looks like, I've linked my full CV here!

Meadow Campbell CV