John A. Campbell, 92; started King/Drew’s radiology department

John A. Campbell, 92, a doctor who established the radiology department at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center in the early 1970s, died of cancer Dec. 4 at a daughter’s home in Reno, his family said.

Campbell was recruited to lead the radiology department because he and his wife were known to be “interested in helping the chronically underserved,” said Dr. Fred Mishkin, a radiologist who was on the faculty with Campbell at King/Drew and Indiana University’s medical school.

Campbell had been the longtime chairman of Indiana’s radiology department. His wife, Willie Grace Campbell, was an influential social activist who launched voter-education projects in America’s inner cities and promoted women’s rights in Third World countries. She died in February.

At King/Drew, Campbell began a radiology residency program that excelled at sending graduates to underserved areas, Mishkin said. Campbell also helped what was then known as the Charles R. Drew Postgraduate Medical School become affiliated with the University of California.

Born June 29, 1914, in Cincinnati, Campbell earned his bachelor’s and medical degrees from the University of Cincinnati. During World War II, he joined Indiana University’s medical school faculty and trained doctors for Army service.