Lisa Baker to leave University Relations

ANN ARBOR—Lisa Baker, associate vice president for university relations at the University of Michigan, has announced she will be leaving her position effective July 1. Her departure will allow her to spend more time with her family and pursue personal interests. As associate vice president, a position she has held since 1994, Baker acts as a spokesperson for the University and oversees News and Information Services, Presidential Communications and Marketing Communications.

“Lisa Baker is the most talented public affairs professional I have ever worked with,” said Walter Harrison, vice president for university relations and secretary of the University. “She has served the University of Michigan with energy, enthusiasm and creativity for eight years, and she is recognized nationally as one of the leaders in our field. Through her service with United Way and the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, she has also become a civic leader in Ann Arbor.

“The University will miss her, but I fully understand her desire to spend more time with her daughter, Elizabeth, and husband, Jim. She has sacrificed a great deal over the past three years just to continue here, and it’s time for her to have more time with her family.

“Lisa is also a close and dear friend, and I am personally grateful for everything she has done for me during my time at Michigan. We all owe a great debt of thanks.”

Baker serves as chair of the Washtenaw United Way board, vice president of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival board, and a board member of the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce.

Before coming to the U-M in 1990, Baker spent 10 years working in government and media relations in Washington, D.C., including serving as an aide to Congressman James T. Broyhill and former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Howard H. Baker Jr., director of government relations and director of communications for the American Business Conference, and vice president for communications for the Institute for Research on Taxation.

Baker holds a B.A. degree from the University of South Carolina. She is married to James R. Baker Jr., professor of internal medicine and pathology and chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at the U-M Medical School.

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