Baker University celebrated the 147th anniversary of its establishment during its annual Founders Day convocation Thursday.

The Rev. Susan Thurston Henry-Crowe, dean of the chapel and religious life at Emory University, was the featured speaker for the event, at the Osborne Memorial Chapel. She stressed the need to embrace religious diversity.

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“These are times in which we must guard against bigotry,” she said.

Dan Lambert, Baker’s president, said it was especially important for Baker to celebrate its founding because it was the first university in Kansas. He said he appreciated Henry-Crowe’s presentation.

“These are the things good colleges and universities do to bring people in and stimulate thinking,” he said. “It provides a real enriching dimension to what you do.”