Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
R. J. Baker fonds
General material designation
- Sound recording
- Textual record
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
- Source of title proper: based on the content of the fonds
Level of description
Fonds
Repository
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
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1960- 1961; 1989-1990 (Creation)
Physical description area
Physical description
- 26 audio recordings
- 3 cm of textual records
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Ronald James (a.k.a. R.J. or Ron) Baker received his BA in 1951 and his MA in 1953 both from the University of British Columbia. With his education complete, Ron Baker went on to make significant contributions to the establishment of the community college system in Canada both as an educator and as an administrator from the early 1950s right through to his retirement in 1999. He also contributed greatly to the field of linguistic studies, most notably for the Prince George region, through his 1960-1961 examination of the Carrier language in the Nadleh Whuten (Nautley – Fort Fraser) Reserve on Fraser Lake in Northern B.C. R.J. Baker began his career in education as a lecturer (1951-1955; 1957-58) in the Department of English at the University of British Columbia (UBC); eventually advancing to the positions of Assistant Professor (1958-63) and Associate Professor (1963-65). It was during his UBC tenure in the 1960s that Ron Baker was asked to became one of the chief contributors to John B. Macdonald's report, “Higher Education in British Columbia and a Plan for the Future” (The University of British Columbia: 1962) This report led directly to the government's decision to establish a second university- Simon Fraser University- in the Lower Mainland. On November 14, 1963, the newly established Simon Fraser University (SFU) hired R.J. Baker as its first Director of Academic Planning. After assuming his duties on January 1, 1964 he went on to became the head of SFU's English Department on December 10, 1964: a position he held from 1964-1968. Throughout his SFU tenure, R.J. Baker also served on the provincial Academic Board for Higher Education, established to advise the government on applying the recommendations of the 1962 Macdonald Report. In 1969, Ron Baker left Simon Fraser University to become the first President of the University of Prince Edward Island, a post he held for nine years. On July 4, 1978 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada for his contributions to higher education. In addition to his work in British Columbia and Prince Edward Island, he was a long-time member of the Board of Directors of the AUCC, served the maximum period allowed on the Canada Council and was the President of the Association of Atlantic Universities. He was also President of the Association of Canadian University Teachers of English and the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education, and served on the executives of the Canadian Linguistic Association and the Canadian Council of Teachers of English. In January 1990, he was asked by the government of British Columbia to write a preliminary report on the establishment of a university in the northern part of the province – a university eventually established as the University of Northern British Columbia. Dr. Baker has since retired and now lives in Surrey, British Columbia. [excerpt from Ron Baker fonds, Appendix: “Autobiographical Sketch” by R.J. Baker, courtesy of Simon Fraser University Archives and Records Management Department.]
Scope and content
The R.J. Baker fonds is made up of two distinct series. The first consists of textual materials including reports and correspondence between R.J. Baker and the BC Ministry of Advanced Education and Job Training, as well as, copies of reports written by other consultants and by the Implementation Planning Group - all of which have as their subject the creation of a university in northern British Columbia. The second series consists of 26 audio reels created on the Nadleh Whuten (Nautley-Fort Fraser) First Nation community in 1960-61 by Baker while studying the Carrier language in Nautley, BC. The recordings comprise a linguistic study of the Carrier language of that distinct area.
Notes area
Arrangement
Language of material
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Professionally digitized copies [MP3 and wav preservation format] of all audio recordings were created in 2013. FS
Restrictions on access
No restrictions on textual materials. Restrictions apply on the audio recordings, consult Archivist for details.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
Item level inventory of audio recordings available; consult Archivist.
Associated materials
Accruals
none
General note
Recordings are in Carrier and English
Alternative identifier(s)
Standard number area
Standard number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- University of Northern British Columbia (Subject)
- Nautley First Nation (Subject)