Emporia State University’s new president has a lot of experience at the regional public university level — and some familiarity with ESU.
At a special on-campus meeting Thursday, the Kansas Board of Regents unanimously approved Dr Matthew Baker as Emporia State’s new leader.
Baker succeeds Ken Hush, who has been leading Emporia State since 2021. Baker says he was drawn to Emporia State, in part due to the size of the university and the community — but also in part due to work ethic and passion he has seen on campus.
Baker comes to ESU after a career at Northwest Missouri State that saw him go from director of residential life to dean of students to his current role, vice president of student affairs — a position he has held for almost 15 years. Baker has also earned degrees from Kansas State, Arkansas and Missouri-Columbia. He says his experience at universities large and not-so-large will help as he and his family get settled in Emporia.
Baker says there is a lot of work ahead as he gets up to speed, with an emphasis on data-driven decision-making.
Baker is focused on building on Emporia State’s recent success in increasing enrollment and retention, but he also looking at the campus-community relationship and the university’s long-term future as he accepts his new role.
Baker’s experience with significant restructuring was not lost on the Board of Regents. Chair Blake Benson:
Benson says Baker is well-poised to build on the recent successes under Ken Hush’s leadership.
President Search Committee Chair Jim Kessler says the overall field was strong with around 100 initial applicants.
Kessler thanked the Regents’ external consulting firm CBIZ for its help in the process. He also thanked the Search Committee, both for its work and its respectfulness behind the scenes.
Current President Ken Hush is into his last week on the job, with his last day set for Dec. 17. He says Emporia State has a lot of momentum heading into the Baker tenure.
Hush says ESU still needs “bold” leadership as he departs.
On KVOE’s ESU Buzz before the announcement, Assistant Vice President for Student Success Sheila Markowitz mentioned some of the accomplishments on campus the last four years, including increases in enrollment, donations, contributions and scholarship funds, alongside flat tuition and fees and the construction of the Nursing + Student Wellness Center.
Vice Provost of the Graduate School Jerald Spotswood says there is a good foundation for ESU going forward.
Baker plans to move to Emporia by March or April, spending his first two months on campus listening to students, faculty and staff while going through different data points. He also plans to stay engaged with Emporia State’s leadership team before he moves to town — and with business leaders, healthcare administrators, Flint Hills Technical College leaders and school district leaders. College President Caron Daugherty is looking forward to building on the existing relationship between the two higher education institutions.
Daugherty says the importance of education alignment, regardless of whether the university and college are serving different student demographics with different employment plans, can’t be understated.
60th District Representative Mark Schreiber is impressed with early indications about Baker’s leadership style.
Schreiber has seen Emporia State’s reversal of fortunes the last four years after there were significant concerns the university may have to essentially declare the educational version of bankruptcy and, possibly, have to close. The Legislature has given ESU around $40 million in funds over three years, and Schreiber says lawmakers have liked what they have seen from ESU recently.
10:15 am Thursday: Regents name next ESU president
Emporia State University has its 19th president.
At a special on-campus meeting Thursday, the Kansas Board of Regents selected Matthew Baker, currently Northwest Missouri State’s vice president for student affairs, as Emporia State’s next leader. Baker has held several positions at NWMSU, including dean of students and director of residential life.
Baker replaces Ken Hush, who has led his alma mater since 2021.
Photos by Chuck Samples/KVOE News
