Rising to the Challenge: Dale and Linda Baker

Dale and Linda Baker

Dale (68BBA) and Linda Baker (68BA) will always hold a spot in their hearts for the University of Iowa. It's where they met—during a blind date at a Hawkeye men's basketball game—and also the place they gained the skills that launched their future success.

"Iowa is really where we got our start," says Dale Baker, who is now retired from his position as president of Baker Healthcare Consulting, an Indianapolis-based firm serving more than 1,000 acute care hospitals. "Our education and training set us up for what we've been able to accomplish throughout our lives."

The Bakers were just two of the 2,043 alumni and friends who supported One Day for Iowa, the UI's 24-hour online giving day that benefits areas throughout campus. A total of $1,158,520 was raised during the spring event, including hundreds of donations by participants in the Bakers' Recent Grads Challenge.

The couple provided $20,000 to match gifts made by students and recent graduates, and 404 individuals came through with gifts totaling $36,788. The Bakers, who now live in Golden, Colorado, made their first gift to Iowa as young alumni—a $25 contribution to the Iowa Impact Fund—and they were glad to help the next generation give back.

"We wanted to help re-engage young alumni and allow them to support current and future students in the same way they were helped here at Iowa." -Linda Baker

"Young alumni are in the midst of some of the most expensive times of their lives—car payments, apartment or house payments, marriage, or kids," says Linda Baker, who was a middle school and preschool teacher. "To find extra money to give to Iowa—or any charitable organization—can be difficult. We wanted to help re-engage young alumni and allow them to support current and future students in the same way they were helped here at Iowa."

This was the third annual One Day for Iowa, and to date, nearly 5,000 alumni and friends have donated more than $4.2 million to benefit Hawkeyes.