Baker University

About the time Evie Porter returned to the classroom to teach after being a stay-at-home mother for a dozen years, her husband, Tim, began a nine-year battle with colon cancer. When Tim, her husband of 22 years, passed away in October 2010, she was inspired to pursue a master's degree at Baker University to better help support their four children, Kelsey, T.J., Regan and Paige.

"After Tim died I knew I had to do something more to financially take care of my family," said Porter, a fifth-grade teacher at Ascension Catholic School in Overland Park. "I was very motivated. There were times when you doubt if you can continue through the master's program, but you keep keeping on, and I am so glad I did. I felt as though God was picking me up, carrying me and helping me sign up for the degree program. I knew God had more plans for me."

On Saturday, May 11, Porter's children will proudly cheer her on as she walks across the Collins Center stage to receive her diploma for earning a Master of Science in School Leadership degree. The Lenexa resident was an elementary teacher for five years before raising her children, who are now 23, 21, 19 and 17 years old.

Porter began the MSSL program in June 2011 before completing her degree earlier this spring.

"It was a great experience," Porter said of learning from professors and her classmates. "I enjoyed the give-and-take dialogue between the students and professors during class discussion. You learn there is more than one way to handle any given situation. I felt so confident in the professors because of the real-life experiences they shared. I really trusted their viewpoint."

Later this month with her advanced degree from Baker, Porter will begin a new job as principal at Xavier Elementary School, which serves pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade students in Leavenworth. She student taught at the school and started her teaching career there in the mid-1980s after receiving an undergraduate degree.

"The master's program gave me the confidence to take that step to become a principal," she said. "I am excited about the opportunity and feel the Baker program prepared me to be a good principal."

Throughout her career in education, Porter has focused on preparing her students to succeed. As principal she will continue to create an encouraging environment for the students.

"I want to affect kids' lives in a positive way and make their lives better through education," she said.

Doster, a French and Spanish major, will graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree in May. She leaves in July for Nepal, where she will teach for eight months.

Interested in the languages since high school when she was selected as a Rotary Youth Exchange student, Doster has studied in Switzerland, Spain and Peru.

"I am passionate about learning languages and traveling," Doster said. "One of the best ways to extend to other people is to teach your own language somewhere else. I enjoy the process, the frustration and the reward of having to learn a language."

At Nepal, she will work alongside a teacher, instructing students ranging from elementary school to high school.

"I will live with a host family and will be totally immersed in the culture," she said. "I will have an extra opportunity to study the Nepali language."

The Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships Program, an element of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, places U.S. students as English teaching assistants in schools or universities overseas, thus improving foreign students' English language abilities and knowledge of the United States while enhancing their own language skills and knowledge of the host country.

"Sydney is already very well-traveled," said Erin Joyce, assistant dean for liberal studies and professor of French. "Going to Nepal will be a new adventure for her. Sydney is adventurous and I'm not surprised that she chose to spend a year in a place that she has never visited, rather than choosing to go to Europe, where she has already spent a significant amount of time. I know she will be very successful and will have a wonderful experience. She is unafraid to immerse herself in new cultures and loves learning about the world."

While at Baker, Doster served on the Alpha Chi Omega sorority executive board and was president of Phi Beta Delta, the honor society for students in international education. She also was the vice president of Alpha Mu Gamma, Baker's honor society for students in foreign languages, and vice president of Sigma Delta Pi, the Hispanic honor society.

The Fulbright Scholar embraced the Baldwin City campus experience. She was an orientation leader and Salon leader, providing a welcoming experience in which students learn college success skills and reflect on their overall learning.

"I selected Baker because I wanted to live close to home," Doster said. "I knew I would be more successful in a small class environment, and Baker felt right."

Her parents are Charles Doster of Gardner and Vicki and Roger Stiles of Spring Hill, Kan.

Doster is Baker's first Fulbright Scholar since Justine Grieve taught English in Germany in 2009-2010.

Messer, who most recently served as vice president for online studies at Ottawa University, earned a Ph.D. in higher education administration from St. Louis University. During his tenure, Messer launched 18 new programs and concentrations, which led to an online enrollment growth of 45 percent in just two years.

He has professional oversight experience in academic operations, academic affairs, instruction, admissions and marketing. Before accepting a position at Ottawa University in 2009, Messer worked at the University of Phoenix for eight years.

"We are delighted Brian has decided to join our leadership team," President Long said. "During his interview it became very clear that he values academic responsibility, innovation and growth, which makes him a great fit for Baker University."

As vice president and dean of School of Professional and Graduate Studies, Messer will inherit and lead Baker's MBA program, which ranks No. 1 in the Kansas City metropolitan area for enrollment. His other responsibilities will include implementation of new programs, academic review of existing programs, faculty appointment and development, revenue generation and strategic planning.

"Baker has such a great reputation in the community for being an institution that is continuously focused on creating a very personalized yet rigorous experience," Messer said. "I am blessed to be able to contribute to that experience."

Messer earned his bachelor's degree in communications from the University of New Mexico.

Baker has School of Professional and Graduate Studies campuses in Overland Park, Kan.; Topeka, Kan.; Wichita, Kan.; Lee's Summit, Mo.; and Kansas City, Mo.

The Baker Orange, the student newspaper at Baker University, claimed Kansas Associated Collegiate Press' All-Kansas Award for four-year private colleges April 14-15 at the Kansas Collegiate Media Conference at the Hyatt Regency in Wichita. It marked the 14th time since 1998 that the Orange received the All-Kansas honor.

Chris Duderstadt, a senior from Overland Park, Kan., and the editor of the Orange, was the first runner-up for Four-Year College Newspaper Journalist of the Year, earning $100.

The student media online site, thebakerorange.com, placed first in the private college division.

Dave Bostwick, assistant professor of mass media, is the adviser for the Baker Orange and thebakerorange.com.

Here are Baker's individual awards from the contest for work published between March 2012 and February 2013:

Infographics
First — Tera Lyons, Strasburg, Colo.

Interior page design
First — Lyons

Front page design
First — Lyons

Photo essay
Second and third — Lyons

Illustration
First — Lyons and Rachel Dannen, Olathe, Kan.

Sports column writing
First and second — Sara Bell, LaMonte, Mo.
Third — Chris Duderstadt, Overland Park, Kan.

Column writing
Second — Lauren Bechard, Gardner, Kan.

Sports news writing
Third — Bell

Editorial cartoon
First — Abbey Elsbernd, Andover, Kan.

Photo essay
First — Callie Paquette, Ottawa, Kan.

News photography
Third — Paquette

Sports feature writing
Second — Duderstadt

Feature writing
Second — Meagan Thomas, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Feature photography
Second — Khadijah Lane, Lawrence, Kan.

A man close to 60 years old enters the Baker University School of Nursing clinic at the Lawrence Community Shelter sharing his history of high blood pressure and complaining of blurred vision. He informs assistant professor Susan Ludwick and fourth-level student Lauren Cox that he recently suffered a mild heart attack.

Ludwick promptly asks, "Have you seen a doctor?" He responds, "No, I haven't because I don't know how I am going to pay for it."

Such interaction is common for Ludwick, whose expertise is in community health. Every other Tuesday at the shelter Ludwick and Baker nursing students educate the homeless and those at risk of being homeless at Douglas County's only emergency shelter. They provide basic health assessments and make sure the residents are properly taking their medicines, partnering with a social worker to gather information.
Sally Bartlett, a case manager at the shelter, is appreciative of the work Baker's professor and nursing students provide.

"We think of Baker as our nurses," Bartlett said. "We really like the services they provide because of the medical attention they give and educating the residents to take better care of themselves."

As part of the school's change project, the nursing students created a medicine cabinet to better organize the medication. The shelter previously kept the items in drawers and boxes.

Through her community health classes, Ludwick trains the nursing students to communicate with a diverse group. "We prepare them to work with different socioeconomic populations," Ludwick said.

Cox worked in mid-February at the clinic for the first time. She recorded weight and checked blood pressure. 

"I enjoy working with people with different backgrounds," said Cox, who is interested in pediatrics. "It's a lot different than school where you see the same people. Your eyes are opened at the community shelter."

In Topeka, School of Nursing instructor Marlene Eicher and Baker students in their final semester provide similar assistance every Wednesday at the Topeka Rescue Mission. The shelter annually houses nearly 2,000 people and serves 200,000 meals. Other services include a clothing bank, Christian guidance, recovery programs and work training programs.

"I really believe that we make a difference by providing nonjudgmental, culture-sensitive nursing care, health-care services, and patient education for the 'guests' at TRM," Eicher said. "It is a privilege to share the experience with fourth-level nursing students."

Eicher and the nursing students usually provide health services for a dozen patients a week.

"They use many of their first- and second-level skills such as focused assessments learned during health assessment lab, paper chart documentation, and over-the-counter medications to treat mild illnesses," Eicher said. "They are eager to participate, and often quite surprised how much they know and remember. The majority of the students report the autonomy of the experience provides an excellent clinical experience."

Recent change projects at the Topeka Rescue Mission include influenza awareness posters, administered donated flu vaccines, research protocols for nurse clinics and medication administration guidelines, and patient-teaching handouts of at-home supportive care for minor illnesses.

 The Baker University Board of Trustees announced today that University President Pat Long will retire on June 30, 2014. Long informed the Trustees of her intentions at their meeting this afternoon. She has served as University President since July 1, 2006.

"Being president of Baker University during the past seven years has been my highest privilege and blessing," Long said. "I believe when I retire in 16 months we will have seen my primary goals fulfilled, and the institution will be in a wonderful place to usher in the next era of leadership."

Long has the distinction of being Baker's first female president since its founding in 1858 as the first University in Kansas. Since taking office, Long has been committed to maintaining academic excellence and strengthening student life. She has guided the development of several signature academic offerings at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels, and expanded campuses across Kansas and Missouri.

Her accomplishments include the opening of the $6.3 million New Living Center, the first new residence hall on the Baldwin City campus in nearly 50 years. Long also oversaw the renovation of Denious Hall, home to the Janice and David von Riesen Welcome Center and the Donald R. and Martha Hardy Mather Admission and Financial Aid Suite. Long championed the fundraising efforts for the $11.3 million Ivan L. Boyd Center for Collaborative Science Education, the largest capital project in the University's history, which was completed in October 2012. The facility comprises the newly renovated Mulvane Hall, the Ross and Christine Hartley Hall and the Baker Greenhouse. During her tenure, Long strategically navigated the University through the national recession in 2009 while Baker's students enjoyed record-breaking academic and athletic success.

Long's dedication to students is reflected in the Higher Learning Commission's 10-year reaccreditation recommendation, the Quest program, a new liberal arts curriculum focused on critical thinking and developing versatile graduates, and the establishment of the Institute for Leadership and Positive Change, which debuted in January. In 2012, Baker University launched an Ed.D. program specifically developed for leaders pursuing a career in higher education, which is another initiative stemmed from Long's passion.

"Dr. Pat's genuine love of students has always been No. 1 in her heart," said Hoot Gibson, Baker's Chairman of the Board of Trustees. "The relationships she has developed are what have made her tenure so special. Her calling has been a perfect fit for Baker. Through her comprehensive vision, Baker University has expanded its facilities, academic programs and athletic endeavors, and strengthened its position at the forefront of higher education, which is reflected in our consistent national rankings.

"We are thankful she has given us ample time to perform a thorough search and that she remains committed to fulfilling our remaining goals."

The Board of Trustees will begin a national search for the next president in the near future.