Scholarship Founder

Linda Baker received her B.A. from the University of Iowa in 1968 with a double major in English and Secondary Education. Among many other roles and positions, she taught language arts in an Indianapolis middle school, taught preschool at a United Way Agency, worked as an investigative reporter for a local consumer magazine, and served as chairperson of Volunteers for Indiana University Medical Center. Linda currently serves on the University of Iowa Alumni Association (UIAA) Board of Directors.

In her growth as a community and children’s services advocate, Linda was inspired and mentored by author, clinical psychologist, film maker, and teacher, Dr. Kenneth Magid. Always interested in service to others, she traveled to Romania with the Iowa Voyagers in spring 2005 on the first “mission-based trip” sponsored by the UIAA. There, she worked for three weeks in an orphanage and was so moved by the experience that she established the Dr. Ken Magid Child Advocacy Scholarship, which funds two UI students each year to spend two weeks in Romania working either in the orphanage or assisting with English conversation skills in middle school.

Linda met her husband, Dale Baker, 68 BBA, on the UI campus. He is the president of Baker Healthcare Consulting and a former UIAA board member. The Bakers travel extensively, including trips to Russia and to Jordan with People-to-People Global Peace Initiatives. They are ardent Hawkeye sports fans and generous contributors to the UI. Linda and Dale have lived in Golden, CO, for nearly 30 years.