| Dr. Richard Baker |
Full Name: Richard M. Baker
Born: July 28, 1921
Died: February 2, 2010, Tallahassee, Fla.
Legacy Bricks: Legacy Walk Map Link
1997 Moore-Stone Award HOF - Loc 65
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| FSU Career |
| Moore-Stone Award | |
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| Member of the FSU Hall of Fame |
| Elected into the FSU Hall of Fame in 1997 |
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The Florida State University Athletic Department presents the Moore-Stone Award for Outstanding Service to Florida State Athletics to Richard Baker. The list of Moore-Stone Award winners read like a Who's Who of intercollegiate athletics at Florida State and that list proved one step closer to completion with the addition of Dr. Richard Baker as the 1997 award winner. Dr. Baker distinguished himself as one of Florida State's finest teachers as a professor in the College of Business from 1950-81. He won the first ever Alpha Kappa Psi Award for outstanding instruction based on a student poll in 1963. He has authored a number of publications and has received countless awards for his teaching and research excellence. His skills in business marketing led to a number of consulting and research opportunities. Dr. Baker's selection as the Moore-Stone winner recognizes his contributions to the success of the Florida State Athletic Committee form 1974-80 and, in that role, led the program on the path to the success FSU now enjoys. Dr. Baker's outstanding career as a professor and member of the athletic committee make him a very popular winner of the Moore-Stone Award. Obituary for Richard M. Baker From the Tallahassee Democrat, February 5, 2010, page 5. Richard Baker, 88, made mark at FSU By Gerald Ensley, Democrat senior writer Retired Florida State University business professor Richard Baker, a popular teacher and influential member of the university athletics board, died Tuesday. He was 88. Baker was on the FSU faculty from 1950 to 1981. A marketing professorship is endowed in his name at the FSU College of Business. Baker was a faculty representative on the FSU athletics board from 1970 to 1980 - serving as chairman for most of that time during an era of FSU sports struggles and student dissent. In 1997, he was inducted into the FSU Sports Hall of Fame for his accomplishments on the athletics board. "Dick was a very good leader at a very bad time," said longtime FSU history professor James Jones, who succeeded Baker as athletics board chairman. "He was outgoing, easy to communicate with and had a really good sense of humor." Baker was a native of Akron, Ohio, who earned a bachelor's degree from Kent State and a master's degree from Miami of Ohio. He served in the Navy during World War II and spent 39 years as an officer in the Navy Reserve. After joining the FSU faculty, he earned a doctorate in speech communications. In addition to teaching, he served many years as associate dean for student affairs and dean of graduate studies for the College of Business. He was renowned for his love of teaching and dedication to his students. Beginning in the 1960s, former students including the late Florida Senate President Jim King - who credited Baker with guiding him to a successful business career - began donating to a fund that eventually produced the Richard Baker Endowed Chair of Marketing. "Dr. Baker was quite likely the most influential man in my life; certainly my business life," said John Boesch, a retired marketing executive who earned bachelor's and master's degrees in marketing from FSU. "Throughout my business career, I frequently asked myself, ‘How would Dr. Baker handle this?'" Baker was a licensed pilot who flew his own plane for many years. He was an avid tennis player and golfer into his 70s. He read voraciously and was knowledgeable about a wide range of topics, including politics, medicine, history, astronomy and literature. "He had a lot of intellectual curiosity," said Carrol Dadisman, retired Tallahassee Democrat publisher who played tennis weekly with Baker. "He was one of the first in our crowd of old men to become computer-knowledgeable. "Long after he retired from the classroom, his mind stayed very active. He sought out knowledge and knew a lot." Baker's wife of 62 years, Scottie, died in 2007. He is survived by his son and daughter. The funeral is Saturday at 2 p.m. at Faith Presbyterian. |
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