BAKER CONNECTION
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On June 2, 1992, Richard J. Stoll, director for the Center for the
Study of Institutions and Values and a professor of political science,
sent a memo to then Rice University president George Rupp.
In this memo, Stoll suggested that Rice approach Secretary of State
James A. Baker, III, to approve the concept and establishment of a
"James Baker Institute." Rupp responded favorably to Stoll's memo and
thus the Baker Institute was born.
On March 31, 1993, Secretary Baker gave a
speech at
Rice in which he accepted the university’s offer of an institute in his
honor. In this speech, titled “Ideas Into
Action,” he charged the Baker Institute to "draw together
statesmen, scholars, and students ... and ... build a bridge between
the world of ideas and the world of action...." These founding words
were later used as building stones in the external architecture of the
building.
Between 1993 and 1994, the Baker Institute was coordinated by John
Rogers, former under secretary for management at the Department of
State. In August 1994, Rice appointed a founding director for the
institute, distinguished diplomat Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian.
Djerejian continues to serve in the post of founding director.
On October 20, 1994, ground was broken on the Baker Hall building
site. Four U.S. presidents participated in the ceremony (Gerald Ford,
Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush), setting the
bipartisan tone that Baker had mandated from the institute's beginning.
More information on the institute's groundbreaking ceremony can be
found in the inaugural Baker Institute
Report. This was a major step forward for the institute. As
Djerejian noted, "... the building itself symbolizes, in both form and
function, the integrative nature of the Baker Institute. Within its
walls the faculty and students of Rice University will interact with
visiting scholars and practitioners to address the major issues our
nation faces in the future."
The first associate director for academic programs, Richard Stoll, was
selected in 1995. In January 2001, Professor Stoll resigned from that
position to take on more responsibility as the associate dean of social
sciences at Rice. The current associate director is Allen
Matusow.
In October 2003, the Baker Institute celebrated its 10th anniversary
with a gala on Jamail Plaza. The gala featured Vice President Richard
Cheney as the guest of honor. More than 700 people turned out to raise
their glasses in tribute to the occasion.
In 2006, the institute celebrated Secretary Baker’s 75th birthday year
with the “7.5 Million for the 75th” major fundraising campaign in
recognition of both his career achievements and his long-standing
commitment to the institute. The purpose of the campaign was to help
fund existing research programs at the Baker Institute and to attract
new funding for several new programs and projects. The event, “Happy
Birthday, Mr. Secretary,” was held at the institute and raised more
than $4.5 million to support ongoing public policy research. Tributes
to Mr. Baker were given by former President George H.W. Bush,
Ambassador Djerejian, longtime friend and Event Chair Mrs. Ford
Hubbard, Jr., and members of the Baker family. In addition to the $4.5
million in proceeds from the birthday event, the Baker Institute raised
almost $3.5 million to exceed its $7.5 million fundraising goal for the
2005 campaign.
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