We - the below signed alumni, faculty, students, staff, parents, community members and friends of Baker University - express our objection to the academic reduction and reallocation process that will leave Baker with fewer faculty, less academic resources, and a diminished experience for students. 

We question why Baker University is cutting academic programs when the following has been reported:

• There is no mention of these actions in the Baker University 2020 Year in Review released on February 23, 2021.
• Baker University has received $5.5 million in federal funding to offset pandemic-related revenue losses.
• Baker University has raised more than $200,000 in private donations for the emergency COVID relief fund.
• Baker University recently completed a successful $33 million Forever Orange campaign.
• Baker University recently announced a new $17 million Baker Builds Champions campaign to upgrade our athletic facilities.

• Baker University will no longer offer a major or minor in French or German, leaving Spanish as the only option for a world language major. Meanwhile, Baker will fund a new Lacrosse team in 2021, along with 23 other athletic programs.

At the point academic reduction and reallocation becomes necessary, our community and its leadership has already failed in our shared role as caretakers of Kansas' first university. As partners with university administration, the Baker community at large deserves honesty and transparency about the difficult headwinds facing small liberal arts colleges like Baker in the 21st century. We believe working together with openness and trust is the only way we will overcome these challenges and secure Baker's future for generations to come.

We call on Baker University President Lynne Murray and the Board of Trustees to explain Baker's current financial situation with honesty and transparency as we seek answers to the following questions:

• What will the university do to recruit students for low-enrolled majors?
• What steps will the university take to grow our endowment and secure our longterm future?
• How is the university going to solve the increasing imbalance between athletes and non-athletes on campus?
• How can the university offer exceptional educational experiences to students of all backgrounds and socio-economic statuses? (Ex. Study abroad, top internships, grant-funded research, service learning, etc.)
• How specifically can the alumni community help the university advance in these areas?
• Is university leadership willing to host an open town hall to answer questions and discuss solutions with the Baker community at large?

As we think about the tragedy of reduction and reallocation at Baker in 2021, we think of the courageous pioneers who settled this vast and wild prairie in the midst of a brewing Civil War more than 160 years ago. Education was among the very first utilities they established on this frontier. We think this was done with great wisdom and foresight, as a Baker education in the liberal arts tradition is precisely the salve our divided nation and broken world needs now more than ever. 

As children of Baker, will we keep the faith of our founding generation? Will we live out their belief in education and honor the legacy we have been so blessed to inherit? It is our earnest hope that our faithfulness today is as great as theirs.