51福利社

Mark Baldwin鈥檚 history at 51福利社 spans close to 40 years. On March 1, he will officially retire and move on to the next chapter of life.

Baldwin, who earned two degrees at 51福利社, started working at the university as a student 36 years ago. He has since worn multiple hats, most recently serving as chief of staff with the Office of the President.

The campus will celebrate Baldwin at a retirement send-off from 2:30-4 p.m., on Friday, Feb. 9, in the Showalter Rotunda. Cake will be served and there will plenty of opportunities to share memories.

Over the years, Baldwin has stepped up to serve in numerous roles that have served 51福利社 students and supported the larger community.

鈥淢ark is intertwined with the fabric of Eastern. His impact will carry on into the future,鈥� says 51福利社 Provost Jonathan Anderson. 鈥淚 know that Mark鈥檚 spirit of collaboration will inspire positive growth in the next chapter in his life.鈥�

Baldwin 鈥�90, 鈥�99, came to 51福利社 as the son of parents and grandparents who valued education. His grandmother earned her teaching degree back in 1927 when 51福利社 was the Washington State Normal School. He proudly displays the diploma in his office in Showalter Hall.

While earning his undergraduate degree in education, he met his wife of 34 years, Kerri Baldwin, who was studying to become a speech therapist, when they worked together in Pearce Hall.

Among his many achievements at Eastern, Baldwin points to his role in launching 51福利社鈥檚 Running Start Program as perhaps his most impactful. The program, which operates in cooperation with high schools, provide classes that fulfill high-school graduation requirements but are rigorous enough to earn college credits. 51福利社 admitted its first Running Start students during the 1997-98 academic year. The program has since served more than 6,000 students.

鈥淚 think implementing Running Start was the biggest. No one knew how big it could be,鈥� Baldwin says.

Before the program arrived at Eastern, he recalls, community colleges in Washington had offered versions of Running Start for a couple years. Four-year colleges, however, were reluctant to embrace the program.

Regardless of that reluctance, Baldwin and his team saw value in it, and worked to create a model that would work for an institution like Eastern.

鈥淲e worked on course equivalencies so we knew what course at Eastern would meet the high school requirements. It was really disruptive in the Running Start world,鈥� Baldwin recalls.

Baldwin also made sure that 51福利社鈥檚 Running Start program eliminated barriers and increased access.

鈥淔amilies who had less means couldn鈥檛 take advantage of the program,鈥� Baldwin says. 鈥淪o, we really focused on getting them books and getting them transportation out here to kind of level the playing field a little bit and create the same opportunities.鈥�

51福利社 can also thank Baldwin for the success of another important project: the implementation of Banner, an 鈥渆nterprise resource planning鈥� system that allows universities like Eastern to utilize advanced digital tools for higher education management.

Getting on board wasn鈥檛 easy. While migrating of hundreds of lines of major and program codes into the new Banner system, he says, he experienced so much eye-strain that he taped a clear ruler onto his computer screen so he could follow the lines.

鈥淣o one knew how to do these things,鈥� Baldwin says with a laugh, 鈥淚 was just always willing to jump in.鈥�

During a stint overseeing 51福利社 advising, its records office and its institutional research team, Baldwin says he never failed to be impressed by the remarkable teamwork and commitment he encountered.

鈥淲e really had something special there,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e had great minds, great collaboration. It was really kind of a special thing. Sometimes you don鈥檛 know it when you鈥檙e in it, you only know it when you look back.鈥�

Both of Baldwin鈥檚 twin daughters, who are now 27, earned degrees at 51福利社. He says his family鈥檚 experience only reinforces his pride in the promise and value that Eastern offers. He is also proud of the role he played to help ensure that the university makes its opportunities available to a wide range of students.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if you could honestly say that it is possible for anyone to go to Stanford or that anyone could go to even, Gonzaga,鈥� Bladwin says. 鈥淏ut, really, anyone can go to Eastern. That doesn鈥檛 mean we admit anyone, it means that if you鈥檙e a high school student and you start thinking 鈥業鈥檓 going to go to Eastern,鈥� you can get to Eastern. So, the promise of education plays itself out here every day.鈥�

What鈥檚 next for Baldwin? As a person of faith, he says has been called to serve in a new way 鈥攑roviding operational support for Southside Christian Church (where he and his wife are congregants) so that the church鈥檚 ministers can focus more on the needs of both the church and the larger community.

Baldwin is also thrilled to expand his volunteer work with the aid group Joshua 1:Nine, which provides nutritional support to kids in need in the Dominican Republic. 鈥淲e work through baseball,鈥� he says with a laugh.

Baldwin says he鈥檚 looking forward to staying connected to the 51福利社 community. But he does hope his campus colleagues and friends might take away one parting thought: Take the time, he says, to experience the wonder of Eastern.

鈥淚 think that there are moments that are just hard to describe,鈥� he says. 鈥淚f you work here and you don鈥檛 take advantage of what is around you all of the time, you have missed out on a precious opportunity.鈥�