H. Kent Baker, quadruple Eagle and professor of finance in the Kogod School of Business, made the largest individual donation in American University history for the School of Education. AU’s Board of Trustees voted Jan. 29 to rename SOE after Linda A. and H. Kent Baker. Kent’s donation honors his wife Linda, who passed away last March.
The gift, made primarily through Kent’s estate plans, will provide “immediate and long-term support” for SOE. Funds will go toward recruiting the school’s next academic leader, along with other talent to guide the school. Kent has requested that the total value of the gift not be made public.
“[Linda] was the type of person who was very modest, very smart, and she wasn’t the type of person who sought attention or recognition,” Kent said. “I wanted to establish her legacy, and indicate that even though she isn’t here anymore, she is not forgotten.”
The couple first met at the School of Business, where Kent was teaching a summer personal finance course. Linda was getting her undergraduate degree in marketing, and according to Kent, was “very bright.”
Sparks, importantly, did not fly at first sight, according to Kent, but rather two or three years later, when she began working at the University as an assistant treasurer at the University’s Office of Finance. The two later got married at the Kay Spiritual Life Center.
“[Her name] should go first — she was always first in my mind,” Kent said.
The last donation resulting in the namesake of a University school was Robert P. Kogod and his family’s gift in 1979 for the Kogod School of Business. Almost 50 years later, Kent has similar goals for what the Kogod gift accomplished for the business school — to distinguish SOE among its peers and further its research and development.
On Nov. 12, 2024, former SOE Dean Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy informed students of a potential “massive restructuring” to the School.
SOE is currently led by interim Dean Rodney Hopson after Holcomb-McCoy stepped down, which she announced in October. Kent said he hopes his gift will aid students both financially and practically in the coming years, through scholarships, special projects and strong leadership.
Kent’s donation will provide permanent, endowed resources for SOE, including funds to recruit the school’s next dean and scholarships for graduate students. It will also go towards expanding the school’s existing community partnerships.
“The ongoing thoughtful planning around the school’s structure, coupled with this transformational gift, will together fuel the school’s continued success into its next chapter,” AU said in a statement to The Eagle. “The donor was not consulted, and did not offer advice, on the ongoing planning around the school’s structure.”
Kent earned two master’s degrees and two PhDs from the University, after getting his bachelor’s in management from Georgetown University, as well as masters’ of business administration and education and a doctor of business administration from the University of Maryland. He holds eight degrees in all from the three institutions. He began teaching at AU in 1975, and currently teaches high-level financial management courses within Kogod.
“Having a family is more than having a house — it has to have a heart and a soul,” Kent said. “To me, that’s what AU has had over the years… AU has been a second home to me.”
The gift will open an endowed leadership chair within SOE — the first endowed leadership position for a school at AU — and dedicate funds to recruit future talent to lead the school, including funding the compensation package of the next SOE dean.
“The hope is that this will provide a push toward a brighter future that is provided from resources to help achieve that,” Kent said.
This article was edited by Owen Auston-Babcock, Tyler Davis and Abigail Turner. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks.
