William B. Baker, whose University of California career spans service under eight UC presidents, announced today (Monday, April 29) that he will retire as vice president of university and external relations, effective July 1, 1997.
"I am indicating my plans early because it is critically important and in the best interests of the university to have my successor in place by the beginning of the next congressional and legislative sessions," said Baker in a letter to UC President Richard C. Atkinson. "I will assist my successor during a transition phase, after which I will continue to be engaged in state and national issues involving the university until I retire," Baker added.
As vice president of university and external relations, Baker has responsibility for acquisition of the UC's capital and operating budgets. He is also responsible for supervising the university's governmental relations programs in both Sacramento and Washington, D.C., communications with the news media and the general public, and development of policies related to alumni and fundraising activities.
"The University of California owes a great debt of gratitude to Bill Baker for his tireless efforts in these crucial, sensitive and complex areas of our endeavors. His long service to the university has brought him the respect of our campus leaders, state and federal officials and university constituents," said President Atkinson. "In no small measure, Bill Baker has contributed to the financial well-being and exemplary reputation of the University of California."
Baker is a 1958 civil engineering graduate of the Berkeley campus. It was as an undergraduate that he began his university career as a mail clerk under then UC President Robert Gordon Sproul. Baker went on to become a licensed civil engineer and worked on the restoration of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a state engineer.
He returned to university service in 1964 as an associate engineer in UC's systemwide office. In 1974, he was named director for capital improvements planning and budgeting and was named assistant vice president for budget, analysis and planning and special assistant to the president on April 1, 1979. He was named vice president for budget and university relations by then President David P. Gardner on Oct. 1, 1983. He assumed his current title in 1993. He has served as vice president under three UC presidents. He will have served the university for more than 33 years upon his retirement.
"I have always viewed my role -- whether it be acquiring the funding to support the institution or in building its goodwill -- as creating an environment that allows the faculty to do what they do best. The contributions of the University of California to the people of California can be traced directly to the independence and quality of the faculty," Baker said.
Baker's university career spans a period of UC's greatest growth and development. The budget of the university's nine campuses, five teaching hospitals and the three national laboratories UC manages for the federal government totals more than $10 billion, a budget larger than many states. The university has more than 800,000 alumni throughout the world and annually raises over $530 million from private sources.
Baker, 60, is a fourth-generation Californian and a native of Berkeley, with strong generational ties to the university. Both of his parents were UC Berkeley alums and his three children graduated from the Berkeley campus. His father, Lewis, served the university as chief purchasing agent for 40 years.
Baker is active in numerous state and national associations supporting higher education. He is also active on a state and national level as a mediator/arbitrator in the construction industry. He is a member of the board of directors of the California Council on Science and Technology and the American Arbitration Association. He is also a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. In addition to his bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Berkeley, Baker is a graduate of the Harvard University Institute of Management.