National Science Board Commission on 21st Century Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

Members

The Honorable Nancy Kassebaum Baker

Former United States Senator (R-KS)

Nancy Kassebaum Baker was born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1932. In 1954, she received a BA in Political Science from the University of Kansas and in 1956 a Masters in Diplomatic History from the University of Michigan.

In 1978, she was elected to the United States Senate from Kansas and served three terms, retiring in 1997. During her Senate tenure, she served as Chairman of the Labor and Human Resources Committee, Chairman of the Subcommittee on African Affairs, and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation.

In 1996, she married Howard Baker, former US Senate Majority Leader and White House Chief of Staff under President Reagan. From 2001 to 2005, the Bakers lived in Tokyo where her husband served as the United States Ambassador to Japan.

Prior to arriving in Japan, Senator Kassebaum Baker served on the Board of Trustees for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Kaiser Family Foundation. She is past Chairman of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health, the George C. Marshall Foundation, and the American-Turkish Council.

She has four children and seven grandchildren.