Douglas D. Baker — an award-winning professor of business, proven high-level administrator and scholar of management and leadership in higher education — has been named the 12th president of Northern Illinois University.
NIU’s Board of Trustees voted today to hire the 57-year-old Baker, whose appointment will be effective July 1. He currently serves as Provost and Executive Vice President at the University of Idaho.
An expert in organizational strategy, structure and motivation, Baker said he hopes to bring NIU to the fore as a national model for a 21st century public university.
“NIU is clearly a university with strong students, an excellent staff and outstanding faculty, who are not only exceptional teachers but also top researchers,” he said. “The university’s focus on student engagement is right on target, because ‘job one’ for any university must be student success in the rapidly changing social and economic environment. I believe I can help the university build upon its vision.”
Baker added that the university has the resources to make a difference in the region and beyond, and to provide a world-class experience to students, while at the same time fostering a sense of community. READ MORE >>