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{{Short description|Private university in Baldwin City, Kansas, US}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox university
|name                  = Baker University
|image                 = Baker University crest.png
|image_upright         = 0.6
|established           = {{Start date and age|1858}}
|type                  = [[Private university]]
|president             = Jody Fournier <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bakeru.edu/our-president/ | title = Our President}}</ref>
|religious_affiliation = [[United Methodist Church]]
|city                  = [[Baldwin City, Kansas|Baldwin City]]
|state                 = Kansas
|country               = United States
|campus                = {{convert|10|acres|km2}}
|students              = 1,945 (Fall 2023)<ref name="Enrollment">{{cite web |url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=154688|title=National Center for Education Statistics |work=nces.ed.gov}}</ref>
|undergrad             = 1,457 (Fall 2023)<ref name="Enrollment"/>
|postgrad              = 488 (Fall 2023)<ref name="Enrollment"/>
|sports_nickname       = [[Baker Wildcats|Wildcats]]
|colors                = Orange<br />{{color box|#fe5a1d}}
|athletics_affiliations= [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics|NAIA]] – [[Heart of America Athletic Conference|HAAC]]
|website               = {{URL|www.bakeru.edu}}
|logo                  = Baker University wordmark.png
|logo_size             = 250
}}

'''Baker University''' is a [[private university]] in [[Baldwin City, Kansas]], United States. Founded in 1858, it was the first four-year university in Kansas and is affiliated with the [[United Methodist Church]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bakeru.edu/student-life/spiritual-life |title=Spiritual Life |publisher=Bakeru.edu |date=2014-07-01 |access-date=2015-08-08}}</ref> Baker University is made up of four schools. The College of Arts and Sciences and the undergraduate courses in the School of Education (SOE) are located on the campus in Baldwin City. The School of Professional and Graduate Studies (SPGS) and the graduate branch of the SOE serve nontraditional students on campuses in [[Overland Park, Kansas]], and online. The School of Nursing, which is operated in partnership with Stormont Vail Health in Topeka, offers a Bachelor of Science in nursing (BSN) and an online Master of Science in nursing (MSN).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bakeru.edu/bc-admission/programs |title=Academic Programs |publisher=Bakeru.edu |access-date=2015-08-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150811063146/http://www.bakeru.edu/bc-admission/programs |archive-date=2015-08-11 }}</ref> Enrollment in all four schools has grown to a student population of more than 3,000, with about 900 students on the Baldwin City campus.

==History==
[[File:IMAG1954.jpg|thumb|The Clarice L. Osborne Memorial Chapel was moved stone by stone from the village of Sproxton, England, to serve as the spiritual center of the university. The chapel was dedicated at Baker in 1996 by Lady Margaret Thatcher, former British prime minister, whose father had preached in the building.]]
[[File:Old Castle Museum.JPG|thumb|Old Castle Hall, built in 1857–58 as the original home of Baker University]]
[[Image:Parmenter Hall.JPG|thumb|Parmenter Hall, the most recognizable building on Baker's main campus.]]
[[File:Baker Offense.JPG|thumb|Baker Wildcats football team (white uniforms)]]
[[File:Baker Pep Squad.JPG|thumb|Baker pep squad leading cheers at a game]]
Baker University was founded in 1858 and named for [[Osman Cleander Baker]], a [[Methodist Episcopal]] biblical scholar and bishop. The school{{em dash}}which is the oldest, continually operating institution of higher learning in the state{{em dash}}was the first four-year university in Kansas and funds were raised by local donations and donors from the East. Baker's first president, Werter R. Davis, a minister and Civil War officer, served from 1858 to 1862. The original campus building, now known as Old Castle Museum, houses a museum of the university and Baldwin City.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Blackmar|editor1-first=Frank|title=Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc.|date=1912|publisher=Standard Publishing Company|chapter-url=http://www.ksgenweb.com/archives/1912/b/baker_university.html|chapter=Baker University|pages=129{{en dash}}32|access-date=2017-09-30|archive-date=2016-04-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427141133/http://ksgenweb.com/archives/1912/b/baker_university.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Old Castle Museum|url=https://www.bakeru.edu/old-castle-museum/|publisher=Baker University|access-date=September 30, 2017|date=2016-06-03}}</ref>

== Athletics ==
{{main|Baker Wildcats}}

The Baker athletic teams are called the Wildcats. The university is a member of the [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics]] (NAIA), primarily competing as a founding member of the [[Heart of America Athletic Conference]] (HAAC) since its inception in the 1971–72 academic year. The Wildcats previously competed in the [[Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference]] (KCAC) from 1902–03 to 1970–71.

Baker competes in 26 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, track & field and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, bowling, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field, volleyball, flag football and wrestling; and co-ed sports includes cheerleading, dance and eSports.

Baker was one of the first NAIA schools to take part in the Champions of Character program, which emphasizes respect, servant leadership, integrity, sportsmanship and responsibility. Since 1978 women have been competing in intercollegiate sports at Baker.

===Colors===
Baker has only one official color: cadmium orange. The only other school in the country to have orange as their only official color is [[Syracuse University]].

===Campus life===
===Residential life===
Baker University has three residence halls and two apartment buildings for students living on campus. Gessner Hall provides suite style living arrangements for 152 male residents. It was built in 1966, and the building was renovated in 2012. Irwin Hall provides suite style living arrangements for 150 female residents. The newest residence hall is the New Living Center, which houses 190 students in 48 rooms. The New Living Center is the largest on campus, with three stories and six wings totaling 52,000 square feet.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://signal.baldwincity.com/news/2008/jul/25/new_baker_residence_hall_ready_students_return/?print |title=New Baker residence hall ready for students to return |work=Signal.baldwincity.com |date=2008-07-25 |access-date=2015-08-08 |archive-date=2020-10-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201018060013/http://signal.baldwincity.com/news/2008/jul/25/new_baker_residence_hall_ready_students_return/?print |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thebakerorange.com/news/2012/aug/20/gessner-hall-renovations-completed |title=Gessner Hall renovations completed |work=The Baker Orange |date=2012-08-20 |access-date=2015-08-08}}</ref>

===Fraternities and sororities===
Greek life at Baker University began in 1865. Seven students founded a Phi Gamma Delta house. Additional students were initiated over the next couple years, but the fraternity was short-lived at Baker.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.phigam.org/b9-pages/about/history/deltadeuteron |title=Phi Gamma Delta |website=Phigam.org |date=1931-01-01 |access-date=2015-08-08 |archive-date=2016-07-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160724010221/http://www.phigam.org/b9-pages/about/history/deltadeuteron |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>''The Phi Gamma Delta'', Volume 30, Issue 3. December 1907. p 218.</ref> Today, there are several fraternities and sororities on campus.

==Notable people==

===Alumni===
[[File:Case Hall.JPG|thumb|right|Case Hall, a Carnegie library (2009)]]
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*[[Beulah Armstrong]] (1895–1965) – American mathematician
*[[James Percy Ault]] – geophysicist, oceanographer, and captain of a research vessel
*[[Edith Bideau]] – singer, music educator
*[[Frank Bisignano]] - [[Social Security (United States)| Social Security]] commissioner (2025- )
*[[Joseph Little Bristow|Joseph Bristow]] – [[U.S. senator]] from Kansas, 1909–1915
*[[Andrew Cherng]] – [[Panda Express]] founder
*[[Nellie Cline Steenson]] – member of the [[Kansas House of Representatives]], Member of the [[Idaho House of Representatives]] and member of the [[Idaho Senate]]
*[[Don Wendell Holter|Don Holter]] – bishop
*[[Mike Gardner (football coach)|Mike Gardner]] – head football coach at [[Tabor College (Kansas)|Tabor College]] and [[Malone University|formerly at Malone University]]
*[[Jennie Murray Kemp]] – temperance reformer
*[[Janette Hill Knox]] – temperance reformer, suffragist, teacher, author
*[[George LaFrance]] – [[Arena Football League Hall of Fame]] member
*[[Kevin Mahogany]] – singer
*[[Andrew Long]] – educator
*[[Mike McCarthy]] – [[National Football League|NFL]] head coach of the [[Dallas Cowboys]] and [[Green Bay Packers]]. Winning head coach of [[Super Bowl XLV]]
*[[Homer A. McCrerey|Homer McCrerey]] – Naval officer and [[Bioneer|bioneering]] [[oceanographer]]
*[[Candice Millard]] – class of 1989, writer, journalist, former writer and editor for ''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]'', author of three books
*[[Vidal Nuño]] – pitcher for the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners
*[[Tanner Purdum]] – [[New York Jets]] long snapper
*[[William Alfred Quayle]] – American bishop of the Methodist Church, elected in 1908
*[[Dewey Short]] – U.S. House of Representatives (MO), 1929–1931; 1935–1957
*[[Bennett Jones Sims]] – sixth bishop of the [[Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta]] consecrated as Diocesan [[Bishop]] in 1972
*[[Don C. Sowers]] – academic<ref>{{cite web |title=Don C. Sowers Papers |url=https://archives.colorado.edu/repositories/2/resources/356 |website=archives.colorado.edu |publisher=University Libraries –University of Colorado Boulder |access-date=August 15, 2025}}</ref>
*[[Patrick Tubach]] – class of 1996, Academy Award nominee, best visual effects, ''Star Trek Into Darkness''
*[[Philip P. Campbell]] – class of 1888, [[U.S. congressman]] from Kansas, 1903–1923
*[[Ernest Eugene Sykes]] – class of 1888, prominent businessman and [[Freemason]] from [[New Orleans]]

<!-- *** INSTRUCTIONS FOR NOTABLE PEOPLE SECTIONS ***
When you add a name in this section, it's YOUR responsibility to ensure all of the following for each person:
 1) Insert person into list sorted by class year and/or last name (surname).
 2) Each person MUST meet [[Wikipedia:Bio]] requirements to ensure notability (see [[Wikipedia:Notability]]).
 3) Each person MUST meet [[Wikipedia:Verifiability]] requirements to verify their notability and prove they attended the school.
 4) If the person has a Wikipedia article, then wikilink the persons name to the correct wikipedia article, otherwise add citation reference(s) to prove notability and attended the school (see [[Wikipedia:Citing sources]]).
*** END OF INSTRUCTIONS *** -->

===Faculty===
*[[Phog Allen]] – collegiate basketball coach at Baker University, the [[University of Central Missouri]] and the [[University of Kansas]]
*[[Emil S. Liston]] – basketball coach and administrator
*[[John Clark Ridpath]] – educator and historian
*[[William M. Runyan]] – preacher and songwriter
<!-- *** INSTRUCTIONS FOR NOTABLE PEOPLE SECTIONS ***
When you add a name in this section, it's YOUR responsibility to ensure all of the following for each person:
 1) Insert person into list sorted by class year and/or last name (surname).
 2) Each person MUST meet [[Wikipedia:Bio]] requirements to ensure notability (see [[Wikipedia:Notability]]).
 3) Each person MUST meet [[Wikipedia:Verifiability]] requirements to verify their notability and prove they attended the school.
 4) If the person has a Wikipedia article, then wikilink the persons name to the correct wikipedia article, otherwise add citation reference(s) to prove notability and attended the school (see [[Wikipedia:Citing sources]]).
*** END OF INSTRUCTIONS *** -->

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Baker University}}
{{Portal|Kansas|Education}}
* {{Official website}}
* [http://www.bakerwildcats.com Baker athletics website]

{{Heart of America Athletic Conference navbox}}
{{Colleges and universities in Kansas}}
{{Education in Douglas County, Kansas}}
{{MethodistColleges}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|38|46|39|N|95|11|16|W|format=dms|display=title|type:edu_region:US-KS}}

[[Category:Baker University| ]]
[[Category:Private universities and colleges in Kansas]]
[[Category:Education in Douglas County, Kansas]]
[[Category:Universities and colleges established in 1858]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Douglas County, Kansas]]
[[Category:1858 establishments in Kansas Territory]]