Although Ohio University's 14th president died June 8, the marks he made on the university continue to impact students, faculty members and administrators.

John Calhoun Baker's innovations and generosity started OU on the path to the institution it is today, former OU President Charles Ping said.

"All who care about Ohio University owe a great debt to John Baker," Ping said.

Baker died in Highstown, N.J., at the age of 103. He served as president from 1945 to 1961 and is the namesake of Baker University Center.

During Baker's presidency, enrollment increased from 1,500 students to more than 8,000 at the time of his retirement, according to OU News Services. Both research and doctoral programs were established during his presidency, and 32 major buildings were added to the campus.

But most memorable to Ping was Baker's establishment of the Ohio University Fund in 1945 to finance scholarships, research and other needs not met by state funds.

The private, nonprofit corporation, now called the Ohio University Foundation, has raised more than $300 million for the university.

Baker's influence also spread beyond Athens. When, in 1946, governor Frank Lausche asked him to make room on campus for returning World War II veterans, Baker led the development of OU's regional campus system.

As a U.S. representative to the United Nations' Economic and Social Council, Baker later turned his efforts toward students promoting peace. In 1982, he endowed the Baker Peace Studies Program, making the study of peace a legitimate academic avenue through lectures, conferences and courses.

Joan Hoff, director of OU's contemporary history institute, said this year's peace studies conference will be dedicated to Baker and his lifelong dedication to understanding peace.

"He was really one of the last generation of sincere peace advocates," she said.

Ping, who made annual summer visits to Baker, said Baker tried to relate everything he read to the development of peace studies.

"He was a deeply committed intellectual concerned with a variety of issues and causes that kept him young," he said.

After he retired from OU in 1961, Baker became a director of The Kroger Co., The Columbia Gas Company and held administrative positions in several other corporations.

But Baker's new responsibilities did not keep him away from OU. He returned to Athens in 1992 for two months as a Distinguished Trustee Professor, giving lectures and working with university archivists to create an oral history of his presidency.

The OU Foundation celebrated its anniversary and Baker's 100th birthday in 1995 and formally presented the oral history as the 2 millionth volume in OU's libraries.