Implicit in Campbell's motto, Ad Astra Per Aspera, to the stars through difficulties, adopted during the dark days of reconstruction, are beliefs, aims, and objectives that have guided this institution through ever-changing circumstances.

Campbell's rise from a community school of twenty-one students to eminence as a great southern academy and later to its present standing among the state's largest church-related senior universities is illustrative of what perseverance can accomplish in scaling the heights.

Campbell University was founded as Buies Creek Academy on January 5, 1887, by James Archibald Campbell, a North Carolina preacher who believed that no student should be denied admission because of lack of funds. In 1926, the school attained junior college status and changed its name from Buies Creek Academy to Campbell Junior College. In 1961, Campbell became a senior college. The name was changed to Campbell University on June 6, 1979.

Graduate Programs were begun in 1977, with the Master of Education degree. The Master of Science in Government was established in 1982.

The Campbell University School of Law was founded in 1976, and the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business was begun in 1983. The Schools of Pharmacy and Education were established in 1985. The Divinity School was established in 1996.

In over 100 years of service, Campbell University has been served by only four presidents:

• James Archibald Campbell 1887-1934
• Leslie Hartwell Campbell 1934-1967
• Norman Adrian Wiggins 1967-2003
• Jerry McLain Wallace 2003-present

Its current total enrollment is more than 9,400 students. The main campus total enrollment is over 3,900 students, which includes over 2,500 undergraduate students and over 1,400 graduate students. In an average year, the student body comes from about ninety North Carolina counties, all fifty states, and over forty countries. Sixty-six percent of the students come from North Carolina.

Campbell has a faculty-student ratio of 1:12. This guarantees small classes and personal attention for each student. At Campbell, professors teach all classes. Graduate Assistants will not be found instructing students. This contributes to the quality education for which Campbell has been well-known.