UPEI expresses condolences on the passing of Dr. Ron J. Baker, President Emeritus
The University of Prince Edward Island received the sad news on Saturday that UPEI’s first president and president emeritus, Dr. Ron J. Baker, passed away in Vancouver last week at the age of 96. The flags in front of the Kelley Memorial Building have been lowered to half-mast in his memory.
In a statement to the University community, UPEI President Dr. Abd-El-Aziz, expressed condolences to Dr. Baker’s family, friends and colleagues, and described his immense impact.
“I had the pleasure to meet with Dr. Baker many times over the last decade, and I quickly understood why he had been an amazing president during UPEI’s foundational years and why his leadership was widely credited with helping the University overcome numerous challenges during its first decade. He remained current and relevant well into his nineties, and I valued his friendship and mentorship. His understanding of how the past could inform the future was inspiring to all presidents who followed him. UPEI has lost a great friend and founder.”
Born in London, England, Ronald J. Baker served with the Royal Air Force, then immigrated to Canada in 1947 and studied English at the University of British Columbia, obtaining his BA in 1951 and MA in 1953. From 1954 to 1956, he did graduate work in the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. While teaching at UBC, he worked on the Higher Education in British Columbia and a Plan for the Future (1962) report, which led to the creation of Simon Fraser University and the development of the community college system in BC.
Following a distinguished period as professor and administrator at UBC and Simon Fraser University, Dr. Baker took up his duties as UPEI’s first president in the summer of 1969 at the age of 45. After completing his terms as president in 1978, Baker was named president emeritus in recognition of his accomplishments, and continued as a professor at UPEI. He was the inaugural David MacDonald Stewart Professor of Canadian Studies from 1988–1991. Heavily involved in a range of educational, research, and cultural initiatives and activities throughout his long career, Baker was active with a great number of regional, national, and international groups in the course of this work.
After retiring from UPEI in 1991, Dr. Baker returned to British Columbia, but retained active ties to the University and to PEI, which held special places in his heart. He was recognized as a UPEI Founder at the University's first Founders' Day in 2000, and Baker Plaza was named in his honour in 2008. He returned most recently in 2019, when he hosted a meet-and-greet reception to mark the occasion of UPEI's fiftieth anniversary, and in 2015, when UPEI’s past-presidents were honoured collectively as University Founders. Dr. Baker received many other honours, including Officer of the Order of Canada (1978), the Queen’s Silver and Golden Jubilee Medals (1977, 2002), and honorary doctorates from the University of New Brunswick, Mount Allison University, Simon Fraser University, and UPEI.
Watch the 2015 Recognition of Founders Ceremony
