Matthew Campbell

Matthew Campbell, PMHS Class of 200,  is a highly renowned expert in the field of Mathematics Education, currently serving as an assistant professor at West Virginia University. Campbell came up through Medford Elementary and Saxton Middle School where he was a member of the “gifted and talented” program and also an active athlete in several sports. A very popular student at PMHS, he was a member of the National Honor Society and selected as Duke of Homecoming. By his junior and senior years he had developed a strong passion for mathematics, and he ultimately prevailed over a large field of applicants to win a coveted Park Scholarship to North Carolina State University, which covered all his expenses for four years of study. 

After his 2005 graduation, he taught for a year in Deer Park before returning to pursue his master’s degree from NC State. In 2014 he achieved his Ph.D. from Oregon State University and began his professorship at West Virginia. There he is deeply involved in research, teaching, and service in the interest of transforming the preparation of teachers across the nation to provide the best possible educational experiences for their students. His goals as a researcher are to better understand the skills teachers need to engage their students in more rigorous and relevant mathematical work—discussing mathematical ideas, working on complex problems, and developing deep and connected understandings of mathematical concepts. He also focuses on the role of various institutions and stakeholders in teacher certification and development in order to influence policy and program design. 

His work at WVU is informed by the unique needs of rural Appalachian communities in the areas surrounding the Morgantown campus. As an educator he works with prospective and practicing middle and high school mathematics teachers—applying ideas from research to support their professional growth, supporting them in theirpractice and engaging with and learning from their students. Campbell has presented his workat numerous state, national, and international conferences and his writing his been published in many academic and practitioner journals