After 26 years at Baker University, and 39 years of teaching total, Merrie Skaggs, department chair of the undergraduate school of education, will be retiring from Baker in June.

Skaggs, who is a BU graduate, oversees Baker’s student teachers, as well as teaches courses.

Assistant Professor of Education Carolyn Doolittle works closely with Skaggs and said Skaggs always goes above and beyond with helping the education staff.

“I appreciate that she’s never stepped back and said, ‘someone else do it,'” Doolittle said. “She does whatever she has to do to get something done.”

Skaggs said the goal of her job has been to make an impact on students in schools through teaching her students. She has done so by helping her students learn how to be great teachers, and by helping them find jobs as well.

Stephanie Conner, a 2009 Baker graduate and a second grade teacher at Baldwin Elementary School Primary Center, had Skaggs as a professor and as a supervisor while she completed her semester of student teaching.

Conner said Skaggs put in the extra work to help her students at Baker University succeed.

“She was always very, very willing to meet outside of class,” Conner said.  “She’d come in early, or stay really late, whenever you needed her to. Her office was always open if she could be there.”

After being a part of the Baker School of Education for 26 years, Skaggs has left an impact on both her students and the department itself.

Doolittle said the education department will miss Skaggs, but is prepared for her retirement.

“She’s always given us a lot of freedom to make our own decisions and, because of that, I don’t feel that it’s going to be a disruptive change,” Doolittle said. “We have a great system in place because of her, so it ought to be a smooth transition, because she’s made it that way.”

After spending 30 years walking the campus as both a student and a professor, life without Baker will be a change for Skaggs.

“It’s been a way of life for 26 years,” Skaggs said. “I’m sure it will take some adjustments for me, but I’ve appreciated all the experiences at Baker.”

Despite the anticipation of her retirement, Skaggs still is unsure what she will do with her newfound free time.

“I did 13 years in public schools and I’ve done two, 13-year stints at Baker, and I am looking forward to seeing what the next 13 years bring,” she said.