He peeled apart the edge of a cardboard box and slid a frozen pizza onto a pan.
Before putting it into the oven, he took a chunk of Velveeta cheese and spread it on the pre-made pie.
It was good because it was cheap, and a college student could use an extra dollar or two.
Freshman Sarah Pembrook said she always hears this story from her father, Provost Randy Pembrook.
He is well removed from his early collegiate days as a first-generation student, but he still remembers the experiences that eventually led him to various administrative positions throughout a 20-year employment with the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where he worked with Baker University President Pat Long.
When Long decided to hire a new provost last year, Pembrook made the final cut.
“I think that (she) wanted to create a provost position just to restructure Baker a little bit,” Pembrook said.
The job requires Pembrook to stay up-to-date on all things Baker, whether it be through weekly meetings with the school’s four deans, through the diversity, through student quality and student retention committees that he chairs, through his connection with Director of Old Castle Museum Brenda Day to keep the historic building and its archives in order, or through working with the library “to make sure it is what it needs to be.”
“He’s really and truly committed to making Baker an outstanding university,” Assistant to the Provost Jackie Ware-Sodsod said. “He came in last year after they hadn’t had a provost for a long time and hit the ground running. He takes on a lot of things.”
Despite the weight of work the post carries, Pembrook enjoys being at Baker.
”He really likes it here,” Sarah said. “He drives an hour, three days a week for work.”
Making the 52-mile drive from Lee’s Summit, Mo., to Baldwin City for work may seem like a test of patience and endurance, something Randy said he learned about as a high school cross-country runner.
“I ran the mile and the two-mile back then,” he said. “I think one of the things that that taught me is how important stamina is in all parts of life, whether it’s when you’re a student trying to get your homework done or it’s when you’re a provost, trying to get all your homework done.”
“There are times when you just need to stick it out and keep going and keep going. I think that’s one of the things that distance running taught me, is you just keep putting one foot in front of the other and you’ll get to where you need to go.”
Pembrook believes education is a major footpath in life, and it shows in his own education. He attended Illinois’ Lewis and Clark Community College, then Southern Illinois University’s Evansville campus, then Florida State University.
“All parts of your education are important,” Pembrook said. “In every class there’s going to be something that you’ll use in life, even if you don’t see that now.”
Pembrook said he still draws from his education and experiences when making decisions as the university’s provost. He believes students can do the same.
“I had a college professor who used to talk about ‘transfer’ and about how there’s something in every situation that if you look at it, you can figure out how it applies to your life,” he said. “And I think that’s something to keep in mind.”