Douglas D. Baker
Northern Illinois University President Doug Baker will join business leaders Thursday, Feb. 20, in Chicago as part of his Welcome Tour across the United States.
Businesses are invited to the NIU Executive Leadership Forum conference to share leadership practices and discuss gaining ground in a global economy and achieving competitive positioning.
The Executive Leadership Forum – an NIU Alumni Association group – holds events throughout the year to bring business leaders of diverse backgrounds together for discussions and networking.
The conference, called “Lessons in Leading Today,” will be held from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Mid-America Club in the Aon Building, 200 E. Randolph Drive in Chicago. Baker will be available to meet guests at the cocktail reception, which begins at 5 p.m.
He is traveling to nine locations throughout the United States in the next several months to share his bold plan to meet students’ needs in the 21st century.
Baker’s plan calls for achieving student career success through recruitment, mentoring, internships and networking. He plans to dramatically expand internships and match students with alumni mentors to ensure that every graduate is employed within six months of graduation.
His experience includes eight years as provost and executive vice president of the University of Idaho and 24 years in the Washington State University system. While at Washington State, he was an award-winning professor of business, led the Office of Undergraduate Education and served as vice provost for academic affairs.
The keynote speaker at the conference is Dennis Chookaszian, who is the retired chairman and CEO of CNA Insurance Companies and who has served as a board director on 11 publicly traded corporations.
A panel discussion on leadership practices will be presented by Rita Athas, retired president of World Business Chicago, and Jerry Roper, retired president and CEO of Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.
Jeffrey Yordon, founder of Sagent Pharmaceuticals, will share his expertise on competitive positioning. His company was rated No. 1 on Crain’s 2013 Fast Fifty list of Chicago’s fastest growing companies.
The event is free for Executive Leadership Forum members and $50 for nonmembers. To register for the conference or learn more, visit myniu.com.
