Topic: Tom Campbell

Thomas J. "Tom" Campbell (born August 14, 1952) is the Dean of Chapman University School of Law, a former five-term Republican United States Congressman from California's 12th and 15th districts, a former professor at Stanford Law School, a former dean of the Haas School of Business, and a former professor of business administration at the University of California, Berkeley. He served as the Director of Finance for the State of California in 2004 and 2005, and previously served a term in the California State Senate. On June 8, 2010 he lost his bid for the Class 3 Senate Seat held by Barbara Boxer, having been defeated in the Republican primary by Carly Fiorina.

Born in Chicago, Campbell obtained his B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Chicago (1973), a J.D. from Harvard Law School (1976) and then a subsequent Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago (1980). He served as a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Byron White from 1977 to 1978 and, the year before that, for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge George E. MacKinnon. His mentor was Milton Friedman. He was raised in a Democratic family, but became a Republican during college.

Campbell was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1976 and went into private practice in Chicago. He was a White House Fellow in the offices of the Chief of Staff and Counsel (1980–1981). He then served in the Reagan Administration as Director of the Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade Commission (1981–1983).