BUIES CREEK -- A decade ago, Jerry Wallace sat under a tree awaiting Campbell Universitys graduation ceremony, marveling at how much he had enjoyed his first year back in the classroom after more than 20 years as an administrator there.

He had no concern for the frantic preparations inside; his own plans included a monthlong beach vacation starting the next day. But that night, Campbells president paid him a visit. He was gravely ill and wanted Wallace to be the next leader of the private Baptist college.

Youve rested long enough, Wallace recalls then-president Norman Wiggins telling him.

Indeed, Wallace, now 77, hasnt rested much since. In 2003, he became the colleges fourth president, and in nine years he has overseen massive changes - including the addition of what will be the states second-largest medical school when it opens next year.

The school recently got the accreditation it needed to start recruiting its first class of students, and its 96,000-square-foot home is rising along U.S. 421 near Campbells main campus. It will be the first new medical school to open in North Carolina in 35 years and the first to train doctors of osteopathy, who tend to focus on primary care.

Wallace conceived the idea of a medical school only two years ago and championed it as a way to grow much-needed family doctors in the rural areas, where many of its students will train at area hospitals.

The $70 million project, funded with private donations, loans and cash reserves, will be the capstone of a tenure in which Wallace also revamped the universitys campus, moved its law school to downtown Raleigh, and added a series of new programs.

None of this has been easy, he says of the changes at Campbell. We have had our work cut out for us, but the good Lord has provided.

Campbell Trustee Bob Barker says the university has made tremendous progress under Wallace and credits Wallace with many of the strides the school made while he was provost under Wiggins.

He is just an innovative person, says Barker, a Campbell alumnus and owner of a Fuquay-Varina-based supply company. He amazes me all the time with how he comes up with these ideas and carries them through.

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Tar Heel of the Week: Jerry Wallace oversees change at Campbell