Delbert W. Baker is a

Seventh-day Adventist The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, a ...

minister, author, educator, and administrator. Formerly the tenth president of

Oakwood University Oakwood University is a private, historically black Seventh-day Adventist university in Huntsville, Alabama. It is the only HBCU owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Oakwood University is accredited by the Southern Associa ...

(1996–2010) and a vice president of the

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists The General Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists is the governing organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Its headquarters is located in Silver Spring, Maryland and oversees the church in directing its various divisions and ...

(2010–2015), Baker is currently the vice chancellor of the

Adventist University of Africa The Adventist University of Africa is a Seventh-day Adventist university created for the purpose of providing post-graduate education throughout Africa. The University is accredited by the Commission for University Education, Kenya and the Accred ...

Education and Family

Baker was born in 1953 in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. He holds a BA in Ministerial Theology from Oakwood College, a Master of Divinity from

Andrews University Andrews University is a private Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists and is the flagship univer ...

, and a PhD in communications from

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

. He is married to the former Susan Lee, a

physical therapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, pat ...

and educator. The couple has three adult sons.

Career

Baker's professional experience includes ten years of pastoring (1975–1985), seven years as editor of ''Message'' (1985–1992), and four years as vice president and professor of Religion at

Loma Linda University Loma Linda University (LLU) is a private Seventh-day Adventist health sciences university in Loma Linda, California. , the university comprises eight schools and a Faculty of Graduate Studies. It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist educat ...

and Medical Center (1992–1996). He has authored or edited over 20 books, most notably ''The Unknown Prophet,'' ''From Exile to Prime Minister'', and ''Telling the Story'', and written over 500 articles. Baker was the tenth president of

from 1996 to 2010. Under his leadership the university experienced significant growth including increased enrollment; enlarged land holdings; construction and/or purchase of five major facilities; major renovations on numerous campus structures; and development of a comprehensive award-winning technology network. Fund-raising efforts were remarkable with approximately $90 million raised through donations and grants. During his tenure the campus received awards for academics, beauty, and community service. For the length of his tenure Oakwood University was listed in ''U.S. News & World Report'' as among the best colleges in the Southern region. Baker served on the White House Advisory for

HBCUs Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

for five years; testified before several congressional committees; and received awards from the White House,

UNCF UNCF, the United Negro College Fund, also known as the United Fund, is an American philanthropic organization that funds scholarships for black students and general scholarship funds for 37 private historically black colleges and universities. ...

, Alumnus of the Year from his alma mater, and many civic and educational organizations. Also during his presidency, Baker completed marathons to raise funds for student scholarships on all seven continents and the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

, and 35 of the 50 states in the U.S., that raised more than $500,000 in a scholarship endowment. From 2010 to 2015 Baker was a vice president of the

. In 2012 and 2013, he coordinated the worldwide Great Controversy/Great Hope Global Sharing Program that distributed more than 142 million copies of the

Ellen G. White Ellen Gould White (née Harmon; November 26, 1827 – July 16, 1915) was an American woman author and co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Along with other Adventist leaders such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, she wa ...

classic The Great Controversy. In response to increasing crises and global hot spots, Baker provided leadership for the establishment of the worldwide GC crisis leadership preparation project that resulted in all SDA world divisions developing and maintaining crisis readiness. In collaboration with the Health Ministries Department, Baker also coordinated the establishment of the global comprehensive health ministry program and worked with efforts to stem the spread of

Ebola Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after bec ...

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mau ...

. In 2013 he led out in a successful campaign for the release of Seventh-day Adventist minister Antonio Monteiro from prison after being falsely incarcerated for 22 months in

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. In November 2015 Baker accepted a call to be the vice chancellor (president) of the

, located near

Nairobi, Kenya Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper had ...

References

External links

Oakwood University

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist Church

Adventist University of Africa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Delbert 1953 births Writers from California Seventh-day Adventist administrators American Seventh-day Adventists American Seventh-day Adventist ministers Seventh-day Adventist religious workers Living people Andrews University alumni Oakwood University alumni

Education and Family

Career

See also

References

External links