Baker University is celebrating its 150th anniversary in many ways, one of which aims to provide the community with a unique expression of Baker’s past, present and future.
The university is preparing a video composed of information about the university, including interviews from prominent Baker faculty, administrators and alumni.
Vice President for Marketing Annette Galluzzi said the video is a lasting addition to the university’s 150th anniversary celebration.
“The video will reflect on Baker’s past, talk about how it relates to where we are today and how it relates to our future,” she said.
Galluzzi said the video will be a tool used to mark the university’s history where archives and other documents do not.
“I don’t know that we have a lot of published material that looks at Baker’s history in full like this will,” she said.
The 40-minute video will showcase different aspects of the Baker University experience with categories such as student activities and athletics, how people make lifetime connections through the university and a special look at alumni who have broken ground or become prominent in their respective fields.
Some persons scheduled to appear on the video are alumni and Pulitzer Prize winner Harold Jackson, former university president Dan Lambert and alumna and Professor of Biology Darcy Russell.
“We wanted them to represent a variety of areas from the university and a number of different backgrounds,” Galluzzi said.
She said Jackson was chosen for various reasons.
“He was here in the ’70s, which was a tumultuous time in history and in this area,” she said. “He was also here during the founding of Mungano. As well as being a Pulitzer Prize winner, (he was chosen) because of what he’s done with his education from Baker.”
Jackson, whose career has lasted 32 years, is now the deputy editorial page editor at the Philadelphia Inquirer.
“As a participant, I believe it will help members of Baker’s diverse community reach consensus in their pride for their school and what its graduates have accomplished,” he said.
Russell was chosen because of her various roles as a Baker student and faculty member, along with her involvement in the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority, Galluzzi said.
“She’s an excellent source because she has been here to see how things have evolved,” she said.
Russell, who attended Baker from 1976-1980, said she was employed at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., as its community celebrated its 250th anniversary.
“It helped to reconnect with a huge alumni base,” she said. “It was very celebratory and brought a lot of interest to the university as well as donors.”
Russell said she is excited about the 150th anniversary celebration.
“It’s a true moment of celebration of how the university has provided students the opportunity to get an education – and do it so well,” she said.
Galluzzi said the film will debut in August.