[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 50 (Thursday, April 24, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E747]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM BAKER

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                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 24, 1997

  Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
man who has made it his professional mission to serve the State of 
California and its 32 million people. William Baker, whose career has 
spanned more than three decades, will be retiring this year as vice 
president of university and external relations for the University of 
California system.
  Ever since starting work for UC some 33 years ago, Bill has been a 
steady force, helping to guide the university through its most 
formative years. Now with nine campuses, five teaching hospitals, and 
the three national laboratories it manages for the Federal Government, 
UC's $10 billion budget is larger than that of many States. Bill has 
been instrumental in maintaining the university's prominence as one of 
the top university systems in the country. I speak from personal 
knowledge, when I say that Bill Baker is an influential voice for 
education on Capitol Hill.
  A fourth-generation Californian and a native of Berkeley, Bill is a 
1958 civil engineering graduate of the University of California, 
Berkeley. It was as an undergraduate that he began his university 
career as a mail clerk under former UC President Robert Gordon Sproul. 
Bill went on to become a licensed civil engineer and worked as a State 
engineer on the restoration of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
  Bill returned to university service in 1964 as an associate engineer 
in UC's systemwide office. In 1974, he was named director for capital 
improvements planning and budgeting, and was named assistant vice 
president for budget, analysis, and planning and special assistant to 
the president on April 1, 1979. He was named vice president for budget 
and university relations by former President David Gardner on October 
1, 1983. Bill assumed his current title in 1993.
  Besides his professional pursuits, Bill has found time to give even 
more back to the people of both his State and country. Active in 
numerous national and State associations supporting higher education, 
he also participates on a State and national level as a mediator and 
arbitrator in the construction industry. Bill is a member of the board 
of directors of the California Council on Science and Technology, which 
I created with Bill's leadership, and of the American Arbitration 
Association. He is also a member of the American Society of Civil 
Engineers.
  Mr. Speaker, I could go on and on about Bill Baker. To me, he 
embodies the very best in public service. Committed and compassionate, 
Bill has demonstrated every day and in every way that the best way to 
advance the public good is by doing good for the public. We are 
fortunate to have been touched by his works. He is a ``true blue.''

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