Baker students return for campus move-in

Baldwin ? Baker University students will return to campus today for the fall semester.

Today is move-in day at the Baldwin campus, with classes beginning Monday.

Baker officials said they expected more than 900 students to attend classes this semester, though official totals won’t be available until Friday. Enrollment last year was 891 students.

“We feel like we’ll meet our goal,” said Annette Galluzzi, vice president of marketing. “Indicators tell us we’re doing a little better at retention than last year.”

Cheryl McCrary, director of admissions, said Baker hoped to increase its Baldwin campus enrollment to 1,000 by 2006.

“The numbers look good considering the economy,” she said. “We’re bringing in another solid group of students.”

Freshman students aren’t the only new faces at Baker. The university also has a new vice president and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Jamie Comstock. Comstock, who started in July, previously worked as interim dean and director of academic services at the School of Professional Studies at St. Louis University.

And more changes are in the wind. Administrators are preparing to kick off a “Baker@150” capital campaign centered around Baker’s 150th birthday, which is in 2008.

The largest projects in the campaign are $6 million in athletic facilities improvements and a $20 million science building.

8 a.m. — Students begin moving into residence halls.4 p.m. to 5 p.m. — President’s reception at the Collins House.9 p.m. — Casino Night at the Harter Union cafeteria, with food and prizes.11 p.m. — Residence hall meetings.

The science building would be built on the south end of campus, just east of Constant Hall. It would replace Mulvane Hall, which was built in the late 1920s and has become outdated for science research.

Mulvane Hall would be renovated to become classroom space. Baker officials hope to have the project started in the next three years and completed by 2008.

The athletic facilities improvements include installing an artificial playing surface and an eight-lane track at Liston Stadium. The field would be marked to accommodate both soccer and football.

Plans call for the baseball and softball fields to be flipped, with the new baseball field on the west side of Second Street and the softball field on the east side of Second Street.