Kendall Baker remembered as ‘a student’s president’ at UND

GRAND FORKS – Former UND President Kendall Baker was an administrator who placed the interests of students at the center of the university’s mission and as the primary barometer in decision-making, former colleagues say.

Baker, who served in that capacity from 1992 to 1999, died Nov. 27 in Windsor, Colorado. He was 83.

Bob Boyd, who served as vice president for student and outreach services under Baker, remembered him as “a student’s president.”

“He had a deep commitment to students and a wonderful ability to be able to remember names,” said Boyd, who retired in 2011 after a 33-year career at UND. “He would meet a student and, two months later, encounter that student in the Memorial Union and call that person by name – just incredible.

“He was very well-liked by the students – and for