Memorial services for Dr. Robert W. Baker Sr., honorary trustee and longtime friend of Ithaca College, who died on October 20, will be held on Saturday, November 8, at 10:30 a.m., in the Emerson Suites of the Campus Center, followed by a reception there from noon to 3:00 p.m. The family will also hold calling hours on Friday, November 7, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., in the McHenry Lobby of the James J. Whalen Center for Music.
Dr. Baker had a thriving orthodontic practice in Ithaca and central New York for over 40 years. He served as both senior clinician and professor at Eastman Dental Center at the University of Rochester and was a member of the cleft palate team at Rochester's Strong Memorial Hospital. Past president of both the Edward H. Angle Society of Orthodontists and the New York State Society of Orthodontists, he was also a member of the faculty of Edgewise Orthodontic Training Course of Europe.
He was a founder of the first orthodontic practice in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, and was instrumental in the education of orthodontists in that region. He was also the founder and chairman of the board of Atlantic Dental Company.
First elected to the Ithaca College Board of Trustees in 1982, Dr. Baker served continuously on the board until 1999, when he was elected an honorary trustee. At the May 1999 board meeting, in a resolution lauding his service, Dr. Baker's colleagues noted that he "has proved a careful custodian of the affairs of the College, pondering carefully and thoroughly the important issues entrusted to his consideration and offering advice and counsel that have been judicious and insightful."
Dr. Baker and his wife, Natalie, have been extraordinary donors to the College. Dr. Baker was keenly interested in helping young people, serving as a mentor to many, and the Bakers established the Bert Bryan Baker Scholarship and the Joseph M. Hartnett Scholarship to provide assistance to students from the region.
In recognition of their very generous gift to the Campaign for the School of Music, the Baker Walkway was named in their honor. The atrium in the Dorothy D. and Roy H. Park Center for Business and Sustainable Enterprise will be named to recognize the Bakers' significant contributions to the School of Business.
