Former trustee Baker GS '39 dies at age 90

William O. Baker GS '39, a University alumnus and former charter trustee, died of respiratory failure on Oct. 31 at the age of 90 in Chatham, N.J. In addition to his role at the University, Baker gained national attention as a science and technology advisor to most presidents in the second half of the 20th century.

After graduating with a doctorate in chemistry, Baker served as the graduate school's first representative on the University Board of Trustees from 1964 to 1968. At that time, he became a charter trustee, serving until 1986.

"He was simply an amazing person," said William Bowen, who served as University President while Dr. Baker was a charter trustee. "He was extraordinarily bright with a wide range of interests. His personality was so compelling, and talking to him was always interesting because he referred to himself in the royal 'we.' I never knew if I was talking to Dr. Baker or a committee."

During his terms as a trustee, Baker encouraged education in New Jersey by serving on the state's Citizens Commission for Higher Education. The agency, which was formed in the 1960s to look at the structure of higher education in New Jersey, stimulated the development of state universities. When it later became the New Jersey Board of Higher Education, Baker served as a charter member.

In 1985, he helped found the Governor's Commission on Science and Technology, which worked to increase federal funding for technology initiatives at state universities. As a leader of that commission, Baker helped convince the government of New Jersey to contribute $5 million to the construction of the University's Lewis Thomas Laboratory.

The University recognized Baker's contributions to science and his years as a trustee by awarding him an honorary doctorate of laws in 1993. The William O. Baker Professorship in Computer Science was established in his name.

Baker devoted much of his life to working at Bell Labs, where he was a scientist from 1939 until retirement in 1980. Baker served as president of Bell Labs from 1973 to 1979 and received 11 patents for his work. While employed at the company, he was called on to advise Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford.

At the request of President Eisenhower, Baker developed a plan in 1959 to establish the Defense Communications Agency, which President Kennedy implemented in 1961. He served as a member of the President's Science Advisory Committee and the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board from 1957 to 1977, and again from 1981 to 1990.

Baker was awarded the President's National Security Medal in 1982 and the National Medal of Science in 1988. He was the first person to hold membership in the National Academy of Science, the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine. In 2003, the Marconi International Fellowship Foundation honored him with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

"In addition to his significant roles at the University and in New Jersey, Dr. Baker is remembered by everyone who knew him as a wonderful person," Vice President and Secretary Robert Durkee '69 said. "He was a very insightful, thoughtful and a genuinely considerate man."

Baker's family has requested a private burial and asked that individuals seeking to make contributions in his memory make donations to the National Academy of Sciences.