“A university thrives when its faculty and staff feel valued, its students feel seen and its leaders listen with intention,” he said in December 2025 when the Kansas Board of Regents announced his selection.

He assumed his new role on March 2, 2026.

Baker came to ESU from Northwest Missouri State University. He began there in 1993 as a residence hall director. After a break to earn his master’s degree, he returned in 1998 and served in the residence hall system before being named dean of students in 2008. In 2011, Baker became Northwest’s vice president of student affairs, the job he left to join Hornet Nation.

A native Kansan, Baker earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Kansas State University, a master’s degree in higher education administration at the University of Arkansas and a doctorate degree in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

His wife, Jill, is a lifelong educator. They have three children, Patrick, Avery and Ryan.