Jean,

It is amazing to read through the blogs and see how many lives you have touched. I feel extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to know you and collaborate with you on several research projects. I remember my first day of graduate school, I was sitting in your office and you told me that your favorite part of being an advisor is watching your students grow from first year doctoral students into psychologists. It is evident that you play a large role in this growth and your students will be forever grateful. You have already shaped my growth as a graduate student and professional in the field in the short year and a half that I have lived in Michigan. I always enjoyed our meetings and left your office full of confidence and excitement to be a part of this amazing program and field. You have been instrumental in my training and I will always be grateful for our time together. It was great to see you and your family tonight and be surrounded with such positive warmth and kindness. You are truly an amazing woman!

With love,

Angie

Jean-
As so many others have said, you have always been a breath of fresh air in my life. You are such an inspiration as an educator and person. Like others, I can think back on several occasions when I didn’t think that I could complete a project and yet somehow by the time I left your office, I was very confident in my ability to do so. I never left your office feeling like I couldn’t accomplish something. You have a real gift of instilling confidence and motivation in your students. Your feedback is so real and intelligent, yet always delivered in a way that is so kind and motivating. You are truly amazing!

Your calm demeanor is also always very inspiring to me. I have always admired this in you. You have so much on your platter, yet you make it appear so simple to be a goddess at everything you do. Not to mention that you always seem to be having fun. The balance that you have in your life provides an excellent model to your students.

I feel so blessed to know you and to be able to call myself your student. I am thinking of you often and have you and your family in my prayers.

Love,
Julia

A Relative Newcomer...

I first met Jean at one of my favorite conferences…CDSPP. It was clear from the beginning that we were kindred spirits. The woman loves to carouse, play darts, and bring everyone in on the fun. I knew then, and its been confirmed by all of the postings on this blog, that I should have been hanging out with Jean years ago. But I’ll count myself lucky for the few years that I’ve been able to spend time with her. Jean—your ability to welcome people into your heart and share your spirit and passion makes you a great friend, psychologist, and colleague. I appreciate the moments I have been lucky enough to share with you and I hope I get the chance to have more of those moments.

Love and Peace,
Stacy

The size of your heart

I remember the first time I met you, Jean. I was interviewing for the school psychology program at MSU, and we had lunch together. We talked about your daughter. Liz was studying abroad and you missed her so much. I could see in your face how proud you are of her. Then you were overjoyed when Liz came to MSU because you would get to be near her again. You glow whenever you talk about your children. Seeing Liz tonight, it seems that she carries a piece of your essence, your soul; what an amazing young woman. Reading through this blog it is so amazing to see all of the lives that you have touched. Tonight I got to say goodbye to you, and I got to see many of the people close to you. It is possible to glimpse the size of your heart by seeing the hole you leave in all of our hearts. None of us is ready to let you go. You still have so much to teach us. In the short time that I have known you, you have touched my life. Thank you for the gift of knowing you. I will always remember your commitment to children, family, and students, your unbelievable intellect, your gentleness that puts everyone at ease, and the love you exude. Know that your students and colleagues will carry on your commitment to children and schools. Jean, how can we live without your beautiful smile?

Love,
Emily Sportsman

guided by your beauty, wisdom and generosity.

Jean,

Having read some of these entries maybe there should be a secondary blog attached to this one called, “drinking with Jean.” You may recall when you first began teaching classes at MSU and I, along with other doctoral students at the time (Cheryl, Anne, Amena, Ron and sometimes Tracy) learned from you about timely issues in school psychology research and child psychotherapy. Your passion for connecting the classroom to the real-world led you to hold one of our class sessions at the Willow Teen Plaza in a pretty rough neighborhood in Lansing, so we could think about how to meld the agendas of preventive teen health care, mental health services and schools while also being exposed to a neighborhood context some students had been generally unfamiliar with. Fortunately all our automobiles were still in the parking lot after class, and I fondly remember continuing our deep scholastic inquiry over pizza and a carafe (maybe 2) of red wine at Deluca’s, and getting to know you a little more. I thank you for making learning a challenging experience, but one that is fun too!

I remember thinking at the time how lucky I and other students are to have such a knowledgeable professor; one who cared about making a real difference in the world; one who genuinely cared about her student’s learning and the potential they held to take what you had taught them, and do some good things with it in the real world of hardship, pain and suffering that psychologists often confront in their professional practices.

Your teaching and modeling clearly emulated to me that while it is important to keep good boundaries between one’s personal life and the work of a psychologist, it is also extremely important to do work that is true to your self and who you are; and to love the work you do, so that others may benefit from your diligence, goodness and passion.

I very much admire your multiple illustrations of the tremendous potential genuine human relationships provide to further human development. I have come to know this not only from your research showing how teachers can positively impact tough situations and challenging kids, but also from the generous support, guidance and encouragement you have provided to me personally any time I have ever sought this out from you. I’m also remembering a very impressive presentation you made for faculty and staff at the MSU Virtual University office that I attended, demonstrating how you incorporated dynamic and engaging small group activities into one of your on-line courses. It occurs to me here on this blog, that your work, and who you are continues to blossom like the flowers in your picture. You truly are the professor whose door has always been open to those who needed you,…and you have been there for so many…like a rock!

Speaking of rocks, in reference to one of his many masterpiece carvings Michelangelo once said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” To me Jean, I read this quote and I think of you, all your work, all of your connections to others that this blog is a testament to, and how many angels you have sent off to spread some goodness around here, guided by your beauty, wisdom and generosity. I thank you for all of your goodness, insights and support, and most importantly for bringing who you are to the work you do, even under the most difficult of circumstances that you have had to endure.

I hope to make it over to your house very soon, when it is convenient for you and your family…I’ve got this annoying torture called “comps” to contend with for the remainder of this week (I think you are familiar with this concept). I hope we can sip some red wine together soon, to remember Deluca’s and all the good times.

Warmest Regards,

John Sougstad, admirer and lifelong student (literally and figuratively)

Thank you

Dearest Jean,

I am struggling to try and put into words what you, your mentorship, and friendship have meant to me since we first met in East Lansing several years ago. We started together - I was part of the "guinea pig" cohort and you were my new advisor who I had not yet met or spoken with. Evelyn had promised me that I was going to love meeting with you, and she could not have been more right. You have this amazing gift for making everyone feel capable, comfortable, and totally at ease. I left our first meeting (and all our future meetings really) feeling ready to tackle all that graduate school had to offer.

When I think about all of the milestones, both personal and professional, that you have shared with me, it makes my heart smile. You were the first person at the College of Ed to hug and congratulate me about getting engaged. You bought me a shot after my first national conference presentation. You teared up when I told you I was expecting my first child. And you never for a moment let me believe that I would not be able to complete my degree, even though I was living in a different state, working, and starting to rear a family. I know that it is only through your constant support, passion, and love that I have graduated and can proudly call myself a psychologist.

Thank you for being such a wonderful role model to me and to all of those individuals who have been privileged enough to take some part in life's journey with you. Much love to you and your family.

Take good care,
Stephanie Davis

With Gratitude To My Precious Friend and Colleague

Dear Jean,

When you joined Michigan State University in 1999, I knew that you were something special. It took us two years to find you, but when we met you, we knew that you were the one. Back then, it was just the two of us, dreaming and scheming and building. You brought energy, passion, and zest to our work. You brought hope. You helped to craft and fulfill a vision for our school psychology program that at its core, cared about people. To our list of defining characteristics, you added a commitment to social justice. You helped to create our community, our “family” of school psychology students, faculty, and colleagues that goes beyond the boundaries of Michigan State University.

The person, Jean Baker, and the professional, Jean Baker, are seamless. Your convictions and beliefs shape your research and your teaching as much as it shapes your parenting and volunteer work. You care deeply about people and encouraged everyone around you to set high standards, beginning always, with yourself. Despite your high expectations, you had a soft heart and your compassion leaked out even when you tried to be tough.

Among your many roles I think of you most of all, as a parent. You spoke about your children with the deepest affection, respect, and love. I still remember you telling us about how Liz took the day off of high school and drove to Chicago. You were ticked off, but you were also so proud.

Over the years, you taught me so much, but the single most important thing, is that people matter. Relationships matter. This is what made you exceptional as a psychologist, researcher, teacher, mentor, activist, daughter, sister, wife, mother, and friend.

I will always cherish the memories of our times together laughing, talking, dreaming, venting, solving world peace, and doting on our children. Your generosity of spirit, courage, kindness, passion, and beauty strengthen and enrich the lives of all of us. I will always be grateful.

With love,

Evelyn Oka
Co-Director with Jean of the MSU School Psychology Program

Hello Jean

Hi Jean. I am thinking of you all the time. Fondly I have such nice memories of our conversations at conventions. You were always so interested in my children and how I was doing. That is rare these days. I hope you are feeling better and you are on my mind always. Tom Kehle and I are editing an Oxford Library of Psychology text on School Psychology and of course you are on our list of top scholars to do a chapter. If you are well enough we will be honored to have you. You are well respected. Love, Melissa Bray (University of Connecticut)

Balance

Jean, when I think about the ways my life is better for having known you, I'm not surprised when I realize that both personal and professional anecdotes spring to mind. I can remember "all the way" back to when you interviewed me for the program and we got into a great discussion of the challenges that students, teachers, and schools face. You made me forget that I was being interviewed, and that ease, combined with the passion that was so evident in your words, made me even more certain that I had chosen my graduate field correctly:

"You mean I can spend the next few years having more and more conversations like this one with all of these fabulous people? Sign me up!"

Thankfully, you were still right there when second year hit, and suddenly those wonderful discussions were getting more and more lost in the stress of things like 880 and practicum portfolios. I think maybe it was then that you shared with us your advice that while conversations alone are wonderful, sometimes what you really need is a conversation with a bottle or two of wine. Many have written already about the balance you seemed to so effortlessly maintain, so forgive me for echoing them. But you were always ready to remind our anxious cohort that no matter how much you learn, it's not a whole lot of good to you if you're too stressed to do anything with it. It was advice like that and the relaxed and joyful model you provided that made it possible for me to wind up with great friends, great memories, and great ideas from my graduate program and not just a transcript listing my completed courses.

I'm a better professional now and do better work for and with children because of you, Jean. Not just because of the conversations you inspired and the varied topics we covered in the courses of yours I was lucky enough to take. But also because I'm able to recognize when what I really need is a night with smart friends, great food, lots of laughter…and maybe a bottle or two of wine.

Thank you, Jean.

With love to you and your family,
Nora

You were a huge part in my decision to attend MSU

Jean,

From reading a number of the blogs from people who cherish and admire you,
I can tell that you are someone special to so many people. You are also very
special to me.

You played a very important role in my life even before I
was admitted to MSU.

Many professors don't have the time or the interest in
answering e-mails from undergrads inquiring about their work or the program.
You accepted my e-mails and welcomed me with open arms.

I remember being so excited that a professor in a real graduate school e-mailed me back saying,
" Sycarah, that is such a beautiful name!"

When I came to the interview and saw you in person, you were such a beacon of light and hope for graduate school.

You were so welcoming that I felt the urge and comfortable enough
to hug you. You were a huge part in my decision to attend MSU. After
coming to MSU you were great and so supportive during those times I felt
that "I just didn't belong" and you assured me that I did. I know that I
would not be where I am today, had it not been for you.

You are truly a remarkable individual and I have very fortunate to have had the opportunity
to get to know you and your wonderful family. I can not thank you enough for
just being you.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family,


Sycarah D. Grant

kindness, warmth, joy, energy, and talent.

Jean,

It was a special treat to take a class with you, something I had been eagerly anticipating for such a long time. You possess an amazing wealth of knowledge and skills. But the aspect about you that impresses me the most is what so many others have already described here. You have a way about you that exudes kindness, warmth, joy, energy, and talent. One of the best parts about having an office just across the hall from yours has been hearing the laughter that seeps out. It’s always made me want to stop what I’m doing and join the fun! Although our paths crossed surprisingly little in our small program, you still took interest in my life and well-being whenever we met. Tim recalls how you put him at ease at his first school psych holiday party by talking about home improvement together. You have a special talent for making others feel heard and valued.

In my four years at MSU I have heard nothing but praise and admiration for you both professionally and personally. In fact, I doubt there is anyone who is more well liked in the college, and who has simultaneously made such a profound impact in so many lives! I got my first glimpse of the love and respect from you felt by others across the country when I was at the APA conference in Washington, DC a few years back. I was standing awkwardly next to our group poster when one of your former mentees from Georgia walked by and noticed your name on the poster. She was so thrilled at the prospect of getting to see you. But oh, you should have seen the disappointment on her face when I said I didn’t know where you were at the moment!!:)

A few months ago you gave the students in our practicum class a charming one-inch photo frame. It sits on my desk as a subtle reminder to type enough to fill the opening each day. In addition to reminding me to get writing, it will also always remind me of you—your wisdom, generosity, and kindness. Thank you! I hope you and your family are filled with joy when you read all of the wonderful stories people are posting. How lucky we all are to know you!

With Love,

Anna