Convocation to feature renowned philanthropist

Baker University’s annual convocation ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. on Oct. 17, 2017, in Rice Auditorium on Baker’s Baldwin City campus. With a theme of “Giving Back,” this year’s program is headlined by keynote speaker Robert “Bob” Carr, CEO and President of The Give Something Back Foundation.

The Give Something Back Foundation is a nonprofit charity formed by Carr in 2003 that provides academic mentoring, social guidance and college scholarships for students from lower-income families throughout the nation. The organization has contributed more than $25 million for mentoring and scholarships since its inception. In March 2016, Carr was appointed by President Obama to a key White House post on the National Infrastructure Advisory Council. He also serves on the boards for Bid Pal, Lewis University in Illinois, Ed Snider Youth Hockey and MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership. Carr is the founder and former chief executive officer of Heartland Payment Systems, a Fortune 1000 debit- and credit-card transaction company recently acquired by Global Payments.

This year’s convocation will also feature remarks from Dr. Lynne Murray, Baker University president, and Dr. Tes Mehring, interim provost, about their visions for the 2017-18 academic year. Also speaking will be the Baker University 2017 Kopke Award recipient, Dr. Chris Todden, director of exercise science and public health.