Baker, George P. (George Pierce), 1903-1995

George P. Baker joined the faculty of the Harvard Business School in 1936 as an Assistant Professor of Transportation. During World War II he resigned to work for the government. He rejoined the faculty in 1946 as the James J. Hill professor of Transportation. From 1953-1958 he was the director of the Doctoral Program at HBS. He served as Dean of the Harvard Business School from 1962 -1969. George P. Baker died in 1995.

George P. Baker, an accomplished scholar of transportation, railroads and education, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on November 1, 1903. His father was a noted professor of Literature at Harvard University and Yale University for many years. Baker earned his BA from Harvard College in 1925 and his MS and PhD from Harvard University in 1930 and 1940, respectively. Baker began his teaching career at Harvard in 1928 as an instructor of Economics in the Division of History, Government and Economics but joined the faculty of Harvard Business School as an Assistant Professor of Transportation in 1936.

During World War II, Baker left the Harvard Business School to work for the government. He held several positions during this period which included serving as a Colonel in the Army, and as director of the Office of Transportation and Communications Policy at the State Department (1945-1946). In addition, Baker served on the Civil Aeronautics Board for two years, participated in the Bermuda Civil Aviation Conference which created an international agreement for worldwide air transport rights, and was director of the Mobilization Analysis Center which coordinated all military research projects at Harvard Business School. In 1946 Baker rejoined the faculty at the Harvard Business School as the James J. Hill Professor of Transportation.

In 1953, George P. Baker became the director of the Doctoral Program, a position he held until 1958. During this time, he also served as the president of Transportation Association of America, an organization comprised of executives from major transportation industries in America such as railroads, trucking companies, pipelines and air and water transport services. Baker also held various other consulting positions at Mobil Oil Company, American Research and Development, United Parcel Service of America, the President’s Commission of Postal Organization and the President’s Advisory Council on Executive Organization.

In 1962, Baker was named Dean of Harvard Business School and he immediately focused on improving the School’s academic and administrative performance. Under his leadership, the school converted from a two to three term year in addition to changing the admissions and recruiting process of the School to include a wider range of students such as women and minorities. He also wanted to offer more financial aid options for students with heavy undergraduate debt and develop a joint program with other business graduate schools to ensure that the doctoral program at the School would continue to be well-funded and competitive.

In 1969, Baker resigned as Dean of Harvard Business School. On May 20, 1970 Baker Hall, the new home of the Executive Training Program, was dedicated to the former Dean. George P. Baker died in 1995.