Meet Regent University's new president

VIRGINIA BEACH

This summer, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi met with a group called Conservatives for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. White House officials and religious leaders were at the meeting, and the new president of Regent University was there, too.

Carlos Campo was not acting on behalf of the school but says he is on a crusade for immigration reform measures that "respect the rule of law and are compassionate and fair." Campo's predecessor - Pat Robertson - has been outspoken on national issues, even running for president of the United States in 1988.

It's not a role most college presidents take on, but Carlos Campo is not most college presidents.

Campo grew up with music in his house and two famous parents.

His father, Pupi, came to New York from Havana in 1940 and later formed the Pupi Campo Orchestra.

The band played nightclubs in Harlem and around New York City and gave Latin music legend Tito Puente his start as musical director. Pupi's bass player was Israel "Cachao" Lopez, widely known in music circles as the "Mambo King."

Pupi Campo met his second wife, and Carlos' mother, Betty Clooney, half of the Clooney Sisters, on "The Jack Paar Show." Another famous Clooney - George - is Carlos Campo's first cousin.

Carlos Campo said being around a lot of entertainment had a profound impact on him.

"One thing it did was it put music in the soul of all the kids," he said. "There's something about music that enlightens the house."

Campo sings and was part of a traveling prison ministry for 10 years.

He credits his parents with shaping him with faith, family and professional values. They were both self-educated; neither graduated from high school.

"My parents were always interested in what you could learn from other people and music and art," he said. "I've always had a wonder about learning."

Campo moved to Las Vegas when he was a teenager. It was there he later began his career as an English professor at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, and, after that, at the College of Southern Nevada.

He got a first-hand look at immigration issues there, seeing Latino students with high potential who couldn't get scholarships or qualify for educational resources because they were not here legally.

Campo said he is sympathetic to them because they're caught in the middle, having come with their parents to this country.

"Their choices were very limited," he said. "They would be a waiter or maid. Hearing many of those stories made me realize that a lot of these students were caught in the middle and I felt there was a better solution than the ones I heard so often."

He said he likes the educational provision in the DREAM Act, bipartisan legislation that would allow qualifying illegal immigrant youths to be eligible for a six -year conditional path to citizenship.

The law would require completion of a community college degree, two years toward a four-year degree or two years of military service, according to a website for the legislation.

Campo said Pelosi seemed supportive about the conservative group's ideas at their meeting this summer. They discussed how to support and energize Republicans to declare their support for immigration changes.

"We wanted Speaker Pelosi to know that there is a broad group of conservatives that support immigration," Campo said.

Pelosi spokesman Carlos Sanchez said last month that the meeting was one of several to push the immigration overhaul ahead.

There are about 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States, according to the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.

Campo said he doesn't think that deportation and amnesty are appropriate immigration solutions. Instead, he favors a registration process that would lead to citizenship and create a pathway through education.

Campo said Regent will not jump into the fray.

"I don't want to extend my views on Regent," he said. "This is a personal issue to me."

Campo left Nevada about two years ago to become vice president for academic affairs at Regent. In October 2009, trustees voted unanimously to make him the school's president, succeeding Robertson.

G. Conoly Phillips, chairman of Regent's Board of Trustees, called Campo a solid leader. He said that during this past year, Campo reduced the school's expenses by $10 million.

"That's just one of his strengths," said Phillips, a former Norfolk councilman. "I think he'll bring continued financial stability to the university."

Also, he said, the board members liked his humility and his strong religious beliefs.

"He is a man of God. He is a man of prayer," Phillips said. "And that was one of the strong things that we were looking for, and he really filled that bill in spades."

Campo, 51, said his salary is about $250,000 and includes housing and car allowances. He lives in Chesapeake with his wife, Karen, and has three children.

Campo takes over a school that has faced financial troubles.

In June, Moody's Investor Service said Regent had been operating at a loss and cutting expenses to make ends meet.

Campo dismissed the report and pointed to a 10 percent increase in tuition revenue during fiscal year 2010 and a 7 percent increase in enrollment over the previous year.

Campo said the school's endowment has taken hits but they've been in line with the recession.

According to the school's tax statements, Regent has had operating budget deficits that have shrunk from $13.7 million during the 2003-04 year to $3 million for 2007-08.

Campo said school officials are looking at ways to bring in more revenue.

Regent asked faculty to take summers off, amounting to an 18 percent pay cut. A handful of professors agreed.

And Campo said Regent is looking to bring in revenue by offering leadership and strategic training to businesses and churches.

Also, he said he plans to do more fundraising.

Another of Campo's goals is to increase diversity at Regent, and it has been on the rise.

There were 1,204 black students and 206 Hispanic students - about 25 percent and 4 percent of the student population, respectively - at Regent during academic year 2009-2010, according to the university. That's up from 1,084 black students and 184 Hispanic students during the 2008- 09 academic year.

"We feel like we can do even better," Campo said.

Campo plans to launch a scholarship campaign called "Take 2 Through College," asking local churches and businesses to support two men of color by providing financial and mentorship support. He is so passionate about the program that his license plate reads TAK TWO.

"If we don't inspire men of color to be leaders, we're going to lose an entire generation," he said.

The program is scheduled to launch Sept. 15.

Antonio R. Flores, president and CEO of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, said that Campo's presence in a high-profile post will be effective in getting people of color to think about their education.

It signals a growing awareness of the talent pool for all levels of leadership, he wrote in an e-mail.

"This is encouraging for Hispanics in higher education."

Jennifer Jiggetts, (757) 222-5150, jennifer.jiggetts@pilotonline.com