Though serving primarily as dean of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, Dean Acampora's philosophical research and teaching focus on modern European philosophy, moral psychology, and aesthetics. She has earned numerous fellowships and developed successful grant proposals funding her own academic work, institutional development, and university-wide signature initiatives. She was previously funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, leading an institutional grant that engaged veterans and the broader public in discussions about experiences of war using classic and contemporary sources from the humanities, social sciences, and medical literatures.

Acampora is author, co-author, or editor of seven books and has published dozens of articles and book chapters. Her philosophical interests range from conceptions of responsibility to the beauty of baseball. Her current work examines various forms of moral breakdown and what they reveal about morality more generally. She has a book in-process that develops a conceptual framework for analyses of moral transformation, injury, and repair in various contexts, expanding on her work with veterans to include other populations such as healthcare workers.

Acampora is a native of the Commonwealth, born in Roanoke and graduating from Pulaski County High School. She earned her Bachelor of Arts cum laude in philosophy from Hollins University and a M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy, both from Emory University