Kendall
L. Baker, Ph. D., was named the tenth president of Ohio Northern
University, beginning Sept. 1, 1999. Ohio Northern University,
founded in 1871 and located in Ada, Ohio, enrolls more than
3,500 students in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business
Administration, Engineering, Pharmacy and Law. The University
is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
Dr. Baker served as president of the University
of North Dakota from 1992 to 1999. He received his bachelor's
degree in political science from the University of Maryland
in 1963. He received his master's and doctoral degrees from
Georgetown University in 1966 and 1969, respectively.
From 1967 to 1982, Dr. Baker served as instructor
and then professor of political science at the University
of Wyoming, and in 1979, he became head of the department
of political science. In 1982, Dr. Baker joined Bowling Green
State University (Ohio) as dean of the College of Arts and
Sciences, serving until 1987. From 1987 to 1992, he served
as vice president and provost of Northern Illinois University
(DeKalb).
Dr. Baker has been widely published in his
field of expertise: comparative politics with an emphasis
on Germany. His books include Germany Transformed: Political
Culture and the New Politics (Harvard University Press, 1981,
co-author); Post-War Developments in German Political, Social
and Security Politics (Bloomington: Institute of German Studies,
1979, editor); and The Wyoming Legislature: Lawmakers, the
Public and the Press (Laramie: Government Research Bureau,
1973, co-author). He also wrote "Liberal Education in
Post-Industrial Societies," an article for Urban Resources,
Summer of 1986, and "Television Debates and Press Coverage
in the 1980 and 1983 West German Elections," a chapter
in Germany at the Polls, edited by Karl Cerny.
Throughout his professional career, Dr. Baker
has served on numerous boards and councils, including North
Dakota's Technology Transfer Corporation; TMI Systems Design
Corporation, Dickinson, N.D.; the Grand Forks (North Dakota)
Chamber of Commerce; and the Executive Committee of the Conference
Group on German Politics. Currently he is chairman of the
board of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
in Ohio (AICUO) and co-chairman of the marketing committee
of the Ohio Fund for Independent Colleges (OFIC.) He is also
a member of the Division III President’s Advisory Council
of the NCAA and has served as a debate moderator for the state
and national political candidates for NBC Lima.
Dr. Baker is married to Toby Baker. Mrs.
Baker received her bachelor of arts degree in journalism from
the University of Wyoming, master of arts degree in creative
writing from the University of North Dakota and the bachelor
of fine arts degree in studio art from Ohio Northern University
in 2006. Mrs. Baker is a writer and hosted a popular radio
talk show in Grand Forks, N.D., from 1997-1999. Currently
she is working as an artist focusing on sculpture and painting.
They have five grown children: Kraig, Kris, John, Shannon
and Brian and two grandchildren, Tanus and Kenedy
