A lasting impression

By Joy May

HL. Baker, dean of students at AU, has left a “lasting impact” on generations of AU students. For proof, just ask Dr. Merle Strege, chair of the Department of Religious Studies.

“I met H.L. during an intramural ‘touch’ football game early in my freshman year at Anderson College,” Strege remembers. “Our team from the fourth floor of Dunn Hall was playing a faculty-staff team that included H.L. I lined up at the end, across the line of scrimmage from this short guy with salt-and-pepper gray hair. Thinking to myself, ‘What can this old guy do to me?,’ I sprinted from the line as the ball was snapped. H.L. stood his ground. As I tried to go around him on my pass route, he delivered a thunderous forearm shiver to my chest and knocked me flat on my back. He stood over me, grinning, and said, ‘Welcome to AC, freshman!’”

Not all students have such vivid recollections of Baker’s warm welcomes to the university, a place where he studied, met and married the girl of his dreams, and began a career that has spanned four decades. But most will tell you that in whatever manner he reached out to them, it was something they’ll never forget. President James Edwards remembers Baker was the person who sat down with him, in a little office on the back of Old Main, and helped him figure out his financial aid package. In fact, that’s where Baker’s career began — as the university’s first financial aid counselor.

“The government was involved in funding higher education in 1958 when the National Defense of Education Act was passed,” Baker recalls. “They started pouring money into schools. We didn’t have a specific program here for financial aid, but we had a little bit of scholarship money.” So Baker started AU’s financial aid program, coordinating loans and scholarships and helping students find part-time jobs.

But the plan was to stay for only a year — not 40.

“I had a business major. I intended to work in business, and I had some great job offers with some good companies,” Baker explains. His wife, Sandy (Moore) Baker, had another year yet to finish her degree, so it made sense for him to stay at the college, too. “I didn’t dream I’d be here one year, let alone 40 years. But I’ve never seriously considered going anywhere else,” he says.

Until now. After 40 years of dedicated service, Baker is retiring from his student life career at AU as of July 2001. From financial aid counselor (a job which lasted more than 10 years) to dean of men, assistant dean, associate dean, dean of student services and then dean of students, Baker has risen through the ranks within the department, paying attention to both policy and people along the way.

Affectionally dubbed “H” by friends and colleagues, Baker’s strong connection with and love for college students remains his greatest gift to the department. “One of H’s greatest strengths is availability,” says Linda Cummins, associate dean of students. “In the 18 years I’ve worked at AU, he has always had time for each person.”

Though some students wouldn’t have readily admitted it during their academic experience — those in particular who knew Baker’s disciplining hand as well as his discipling heart — they often return to tell him how grateful they are for his leadership, a testimony to the depth of his care for students. Some of those visits included life-changing conversations for alumni … and for Baker.

“Some time ago, a local businessman came into my office and told me that he had cheated on timecards [as a student] and was paid for a lot of work he didn’t do,” Baker says. “He wanted to get that reconciled, so he came to me.

“I said, ‘Well, I appreciate the fact that you’ve acknowledged it, but we can’t go back; it’s water under the bridge.’ But that wasn’t good enough for him. So I said, ‘You can calculate how much it was, calculate the interest if you want, and just write a check, and that will square it away.’ That wasn’t good enough either. He said, ‘I want to work it off.’ So he calculated how much he owed the school and how much people were being paid, and then he worked for physical plant as a groundskeeper. Just because he wanted things squared away between God and himself. That’s one of those things I know I won’t forget.”

Some of Baker’s other unforgettable moments are a bit more lighthearted, such as the morning he walked into the Marketplace to find a Volkswagon parked in the middle of Kane Dining Room. “Sometime in the night, some guys moved it in there; apparently it fit within the valley-side doors. They put big pieces of cardboard on the floor so they didn’t mess up [the floor]. Since we didn’t really know who had done it, we had to just laugh and recognize that some folks were very creative.”

Fond memories aren’t just pastimes, either. More recently, Baker participated in the annual wheelbarrow race during Homecoming week. Each resident assistant (RA) of South Campus, Tara East and Mansfield apartments asked a staff or faculty member to ride or “drive” the wheelbarrow for the race. South Campus RA Jill Renner chose Baker. They didn’t win, but they had fun, despite a few bumps along the way. With Baker precariously balanced inside the wheelbarrow, Renner stumbled close to the finish line and dumped Baker onto the ground. He jumped up, took a bow, grabbed a hug from Renner and then grabbed a hot dog with the rest of the students who gathered to watch the festivities.

“That’s just H. He enjoys a good laugh and likes to have fun,” says Renner. “Sometimes it’s hard for me to imagine him having to be the big disciplinarian because he’s such a fun-loving, easy-going person.”

Baker’s approachable nature is what makes him the most effective in his accountability role. AU Board of Trustee member, alumnus and Anderson-area Judge Dennis Carroll serves as chair of a committee that oversees several departments, among them Student Life. He agrees that Baker’s unique combination of encouragement and firmness set him apart as an exceptional leader in the campus community.

“It takes a special person to be able to hold students accountable and offer discipline while still illustrating the grace of Christ,” Carroll says. “H.L. is such a man. He gives advice without judging or manipulating others; he is forthright without being oppressive. Students who have experienced his controlled discipline will admit that they don’t see him in a harsh light. He’s respected because he cares, and he models the kindness and gentleness Christ showed in his example.”

Amid the counseling, consoling and occasional correction that Baker provides, he says his greatest support comes from his wife. “Her willingness to be available when students have needs is great,” Baker adds. And she will admit that the Baker household has an open-door policy. “H.L. often knows when kids don’t have a place to stay during breaks, over the holidays and summers, and our home, at times, has been a place to stay for short or long periods of time,” she says.

“One year when we lost heat in some of the dorms, students were sent home a day early for break while repairs were being made. A few kids lived too far away to actually leave campus, so we invited them over for a party. Sure enough, one guy got the wrong night and hung out at our house for quite awhile before finally asking when everyone else was coming. H just told him, ‘The party’s tomorrow, but you’re welcome here anytime!’”

Such is the philosophy of a man whose love for students is so great. However, of all the positions he’s held at AU, Baker says that dean of students has been the toughest. “When Jerry Grubbs was here and I was the assistant dean, he was doing the administrative work, and I was seeing students a lot more than I do now. I don’t think this job fits my personality as well, but I’m happy with it. I just try to be more intentional about staying involved with students.”

Staying involved has meant changing with the times during the past 40 years. Student policies have been rewritten, expectations are higher and technology has revamped the way people communicate. But through it all, Baker says there’s one thing that hasn’t changed a bit: people.

“Students, in the long haul, are basically no different. Some things have changed but they’ve equalized themselves. I tend to believe that most things students work on are ultimately spiritual in nature and just trying to find one’s self, feeling a sense of worthiness and acceptance and belonging. Those are basic needs I think we had in the 50s and 60s, and they’re just as true today. They’ve transcended time.”

Some would argue Baker is the one who’s transcendent. His youthfulness is rivaled only by the students you’ll catch him bantering with in Decker Commons. And don’t let the business of his schedule fool you. While he is responsible for overseeing all things “student life” — including on- and off-campus housing, student policies, Campus Activities Board (CAB), AU student government, chapel/convocation attendance and general student needs — he still finds time to enjoy the “simpler” things in life, like racing up and down the sidelines of home football games as a member of the 10-yard marker “chain gang.” Baker is also active, along with his wife, in their congregation at North Anderson Church of God, working with the 4-year-old class on Wednesday nights. His post-dean days include hopes of starting a tee-ball league for little kids in the area and the possibility of remaining involved at AU as a part-time athletic coach.He also hopes to spend more time with family, including his two adult children — Becky Baker BA ’87 and Brent Baker BA ’85 — and his three grandchildren.

Whatever he chooses, Baker admits that tearing himself away from AU will be difficult. “I’ve never disliked coming to work. I think I’ll miss being associated with a good place and people I work with. I’ll miss feeling like I’m making a difference in people’s lives. I’ll really miss the contact with young people. I don’t think they really know just how meaningful it is for them to involve us ‘older folks’ in their lives.” Ultimately, they have left an impression on his life, too.