Baker, Gwendolyn Calvert 1931–

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Gwendolyn Calvert Baker 1931–

Educator and administrator

Gwendolyn Calvert Baker thrives on challenges and succeeds at each that she faces. She has gone from teaching elementary school to teaching college; when she left teaching to pursue administrative work, Baker rose from a job in the office of a university president to become president of the U.S. Committee for the United Nations Childen’s Fund (UNICEF). To each of her positions, she has brought fresh insights, extensive knowledge, and skills that have won her recognition as one of the top managers in the United States.

Baker began her career following the traditional path taken by many women of her generation. Born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, she married early and settled down to raise three children. She grew to feel, however, that this wasn’t enough. “There were people who thought I was comfortable with a good husband, three children, and a house,” Baker told Ebony. “But I wanted to contribute to the community and the world in some way. As a parent I was fed up with the public school system, so I returned to college to become a teacher.” She enrolled at a local college, which happened to be the prestigious University of Michigan. In 1964 she earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education.

Baker taught in Ann Arbor public schools for five years, but found that this still was not enough. She wanted to have a real impact on minority youngsters and set as her goal to become principal. She resumed her education at the University of Michigan; after earning her master’s degree she entered the doctoral program. Baker completed her dissertation on the effects of training in multi-ethnic education in 1972. However, rather than seek work as a public school administrator as she had planned, Baker decided that she could have a more positive effect upon children’s education by training other instructors. She joined the faculty at the University of Michigan in 1969, and began teaching courses in education.

After finishing graduate school, Baker’s interest in multiethnic, multicultural education continued. She felt strongly that teachers hold the responsibility of helping children appreciate diversity by breaking down stereotypes and eliminating discriminatory behavior. As one of the first professionals to concentrate in this area, Baker blazed a trail for others to follow. At the University of Michigan, she helped develop one of the first multicultural education programs in the nation, one that has served as a model for others around the country.

At a Glance…

Born Gwendolyn Calvert, December 31, 1931, in Ann Arbor, MI; daughter of Burgess Edward Calvert and Viola Lee Calvert; married James Grady Baker, 1950 (divorced, 1978); children: JoAnn, James Jr., Claudia. Education: University of Michigan, B.S., 1964, M.A., 1968, Ph.D., 1972.

Ann Arbor Public Schools, Ann Arbor, Ml, teacher, 1964–69; University of Michigan, assistant, then associate professor, 1969–76, director of affirmative action, 1976–78; National Institute of Education, Washington, D.C., chief of minorities’ and women’s programs, 1978–81; Bank Street College, New York, NY, vice president and dean of graduate and childrens’ programs, 1981–84; Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), national executive director, 1984–93; U.S. Committee for the United Nations Childen’s Fund (UNICEF), president, 1993—. Member of board of directors of Institute for Responsive Education, National Black Child Development Institute, Greater New York Savings Bank. Author, Planning and Organizing for Multicultual Instruction, Addison-Wesley, 1983, second edition, 1994.

Member: New York City School Board, (member, 1986–92, president, 1991–92).

Awards: Willystine Goodsell Award, American Educational Research Association and Women’s Education, 1985; Old Masters Award, Purdue University, 1985; Dollars and Sense Award, 1986; named distinguished alumna, University of Michigan Education Alumni Society, 1987; Strength of the City Award, 1989; honorary degree from Medgar Evers College of the City of New York, 1990; First Tribute to Excellence in Education Award, 1991; named one of the ten “most admired women managers in America,” Working Woman, 1993.

Addresses: Office— c/o UNICEF Headquarters, 3 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 10017.

As Carol Hobson Smith concluded in her evaluation of Baker in the Journal of Negro Education, “[Baker] developed a concept of multicultural education that many institutions now use, and she has become part of the network that has made multicultural education a part of the curriculum of many schools and colleges.” Baker’s work in this area culminated in her 1982 book, Planning and Organizing for Multicultural Instruction.

Mentored Others

In addition to her work with multicultural studies, Baker was able to personally influence a number of students by acting as mentor. As one of the few minority faculty members at a predominantly white institution, she was often sought after for advice and support. Baker gladly fulfilled this role and served as a dissertation-committee member for a number of Ph.D. students, guiding them through their research. She also helped place a number of students in professional positions after their graduation.

In 1976 Baker shifted from educating future teachers to administration, deciding that as an administrator she could more positively affect the future of African American students. She moved into the President’s office at the University of Michigan as the director of the university’s affirmative action program. She did not remain long in this position, however, because she did not want to be “typecast.” Baker told Smith that when professionals take an active interest in minority affairs, frequently the “affirmative action” label carries with it the perception that somehow one has not accomplished any “real” work or research.

In 1978 Baker joined the administration of then-President Jimmy Carter as chief of minorities and women’s programs for the National Institute of Education. Prior to this appointment, many African American organizations and black researchers had found it difficult to obtain support from the institute; in her new position as head of minorities and women’s programs, Baker was in a position to fund the projects of black researchers. She herself felt she had made an impact, in that respect and also by bringing her multicultural education experiences to the institute’s outreach programs.

Rose Higher

While working in the president’s office at the University of Michigan, Baker became aware of how much power the office held. She became determined to one day preside over a small college or university. In 1981 she had a chance to come closer to her goal when offered a job as vicepresident of the Bank Street College of Education. While she would have preferred to work at a black school, Baker knew that this would be difficult; she also realized that even at the predominantly white Bank Street College, she would be able to influence future teachers of minority students, a concern that remained uppermost in her mind. Her contribution to that institution would move her further along her chosen career path.

After three years at Bank Street College, Baker moved on again. In 1984 she became the first African American woman to be named national executive director for the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). 20 years earlier, while living in Ann Arbor, Baker would not have even been able to join the YWCA; in accepting this position, she was determined to increase the Y’s programs for minorities and women. Once she had settled into her new position, she knew she had her work cut out for her. Membership was low and not moving, morale was poor, and public perception was limited. “People had lost a sense that the YWCA was anything more than a place to go swimming and make cookies,” she told Working Woman.

Revamped the YWCA’s National Leadership

As her first task, Baker completely turned around the previous style of management. She kept in constant communication with every member of her staff, involving them more, and the managing board less. “The staff often had to wait months for board committeess to meet before they could act on anything,” she told Working Woman. Baker moved fast. She commissioned a study to find ways to save money, and she computerized operations and redirected the group’s marketing department towards projecting their role as an advocate for women and people of color.

When these measues proved to be not enough to save their sagging budget, Baker launched Project Redesign to completely restructure the organization. She surveyed member associations to find out what they wanted from their national leadership and studied ways to cut costs. Within a single year she had cut expenses by 45 percent while still managing to increase the number and types of programs. Under her leadership, for example, the research division joined in a partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Avon Products to set up and maintain breastcancer prevention programs in the YWCA member associations.

After nine years with the YWCA, Baker moved on to new challenges and became president of the U.S. Committee for UNICEF. Bringing her expertise in multicultural education to the committee, her goal was to enlarge the educational component of UNICEF’s mission. “I want us to become a bridge of understanding between American kids and the children of other countries,” she explained to Working Woman. Baker sees this goal as especially important for African American and other minority children. By educating the youngsters she believes that she can also increase the number of volunteers and bolster donations necessary to the continued survival of the committee. She told Essence that “If we can begin to pull our children away from just feeling and thinking about their plight, if we can begin to expose them to the way things are done in other places, we will begin to build a stronger group of African American children who will be much more world-oriented.”