John Angus Campbell (born March 10, 1942) is a retired American professor of communication and rhetoric at University of Memphis who argues that the religious idea of intelligent design should be mentioned in schools when teaching Darwin's theory of evolution.
[1][3][4][5]: 6 He was a fellow in communications of the now-defunct International Society for Complexity, Information, and Design (ISCID), whose tagline was "retraining the scientific imagination to see purpose in nature".
In 2005, he received the James Madison Award in First Amendment Studies from the Freedom of Speech Division of the Southern States Communication Association.
[7] In November 2003, together with Stephen C. Meyer (who is also a Fellow of the Center for Science and Culture) he edited Darwinism, Design and Public Education,[10] a collection of articles primarily from a 1998 issue of the journal Rhetoric and Public Affairs published by Michigan State University Press, purporting a scientific basis for intelligent design.
[5]: 20 He did High Ability Day for "Highschool Students interested in Communication" starting in 1995; did the Urban Communication Conference for "Community Activists, local government representatives, citizens and U of M students" starting in 1995; served as judge on March 18, 1998, and February 10, 1999, for the Optimist Club High School Oratory Contest; presented a lecture on "Rhetoric & The Art of Preaching" to the Harding Grad School of Religion, Prof David Bland Dr. of Ministry Seminar in 1997–1998; presented a lecture on "Classical Rhetoric & Prophetic Rhetoric: A Necessary Tension?"
to the Mid America Theological Seminary, sponsored by Prof Ken Easly, in 2000; attended and presented at Career Day to "department majors", sponsored by Professor McDowell, in 2002; met with Jim Carnes of the Classical School, a "private school centered on rhetoric and the classics" in 2002; presented a lecture to Classical School faculty and students on "The Centrality of Argument to a Liberal Education" in 2003; had a discussion with faculty members at Memphis Theological Seminary during a lunch meeting in January 2004; and was a board member of the Mason YMCA in 2004.
[5]: 20–21 In 2006, he presented two seminars, one in the summer, and one more in the fall after observing its success and interest, on "Civic Communication" at the Theler Center in Belfair, WA, in the North Mason community.
In the summer of 1990, he was Guest Editor for a special issue on rhetorical criticism of the Western Journal of Speech Communication, published by U of Iowa.
[5]: 22–23 In 2007, he ran for a seat on the school board of North Mason School District (#403) in the state of Washington, stating that "issues of communication" were the cause of many stakeholders' frustrations, that he "will work to establish transparency in board deliberations and to foster the consensus-building vital to wise policy, public credibility, and excellence in education", and that his candidacy was about "creating a positive atmosphere in which our students will achieve their full potential".
"[24] However, he did not disclose his collections to intelligent design; in a telephone interview he stated that he would not be dealing with curricula, and that he is a "Darwinist" who considers that debating Darwin can engage the interest of students and improve their skills in critical thinking.
"[25] He said that he "doorbelled about a thousand homes and apartments and talked to an equal number of people in the parking lots of Safeway and QFC.
The election was held on November 6, 2007, and results showed him defeating the incumbent Glenn Landram by 2,216 votes to 992; he said that he was "really grateful to the people of this community for the trust and confidence they have placed in" him.
[27] The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC) named him, among others, as an expert witness for the defense in the case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District.
In early 2005, Susan Spath, Public Information Director at the National Center for Science Education, aided by activists contributing to a Wiki page, spent most of two months analyzing his expert report and his writings, in order to help the plaintiff criticize and question him during his deposition, which was scheduled to occur on June 2, 2005.
At 9 AM on June 2, 2005, Pepper Hamilton attorney Thomas Schmidt III and legal assistant Kate Henslow, representing the plaintiffs, were waiting in Memphis, Tennessee, to take his deposition, with the help of a court reporter they hired.