Dr. Kendall L. Baker

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 & 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.

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 President of the OAC (Ohio Athletic Conference), past chairman of the board of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universitites in Ohio (AICUO) and co-chairman of the marketing committee of the Ohio Foundation 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 state and national political candidates for NBC Lima.

Dr. Baker is married to Toby Baker, BFA '06. Mrs. Baker received her Bachelor of Arts in journalism from the University of Wyoming, Master of Arts in creative writing from the University of North Dakota and Bachelor of Fine Arts 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 five grandchildren.