Remembering former UND President Kendall Baker
The University has been informed of the death of Kendall Baker, former UND president, who died Thursday, Nov. 27, in Windsor, Colo.
Baker served as president from 1992 to 1999.
Following his tenure at UND, Baker served as the tenth president of Ohio Northern University until 2011, retiring as president emeritus.
He and his wife, Toby, relocated to Windsor, near Denver, following his retirement.
Baker earned his degree in political science from the University of Maryland in 1963 and received master’s and doctoral degrees from Georgetown University in 1966 and 1969.
He served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences for Bowling Green State University from 1982 to 1987. From 1987 to 1992, he served as vice president and provost at Northern Illinois University.
At UND, Baker led the University through the Flood of 1997. From a 2016 article in the Grand Forks Herald, Baker “still used a coffee mug bearing what he called the UND flood-era slogan: Make it happen.”
Under his leadership, UND worked closely with the city and other partners to coordinate resident evacuations, emergency housing and the relocation of the Emergency Operations Center.
“We talk about our years at UND all the time, and we could talk about the flood for days,” he said in 2016. “There is no question in the world about the strength of our relationship to North Dakota, to Grand Forks and UND. If you watch me on the couch when the hockey team or football team plays, it’s pretty clear we’re strong supporters of the University and its academic programs — I’d say that’s the overwhelming feeling that we have.”
A video produced by UND in 2020 featured reflections from past presidents, including Baker.
He remarked, “It’s a big state. But it’s a state with a very, very special kind of people.
“Enthusiasm and commitment and those kind of things, they’re contagious. And it is because of the enthusiasm and commitment that the students at UND had, that I think an awful lot of other people were equally devoted to this fine institution.”
A story from UND Today commemorating Baker’s life and service to UND is available to read now.
