A decade ago, former secretary of state James A. Baker, III, elucidated his vision for the new public policy institute that Rice was founding in his name. It would be, he said, a bridge between the worlds of ideas and action.

In the relatively short time since, the James A. Baker Institute for Public Policy has lived up to that promise, joining the ranks of top think tanks three times its age.

On October 17–19, institute staff and faculty, university officials, and distinguished visitors celebrated the Baker Institute’s 10th anniversary with a series of events that began with a black-tie gala featuring a keynote address by Vice President Richard Cheney. The spotlight turned, on Saturday night, to a forum with national news anchors Peter Jennings and Jim Lehrer, chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell, and former secretary of state James A. Baker, III, who discussed the role of the media and public policy. And a Sunday afternoon party for Rice students under the tent in front of the Baker Institute offered one more chance to celebrate.

The Baker Institute was made a reality through the work of Rice’s academic leadership and faculty, who created an interdisciplinary, nonpartisan public policy institute with a difference. Unlike members of many public policy think tanks, faculty associated with the Baker Institute remain affiliated with their own academic departments while conducting research and participating in programs at the institute. Also, there is growing participation among undergraduate and graduate students, in both research and leadership, as they work alongside faculty, visiting scholars, fellows, and guests from government, business, and the news media.

Veteran diplomat Edward P. Djerejian was recruited in 1994 to serve as the institute’s founding director. Djerejian served as U.S. ambassador to the Syrian Arab Republic from 1988 to 1991, as assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs during 1991–93, and as ambassador to Israel in 1993. Richard Stoll, a professor of political science who, in 1991, originated the idea of establishing such an institute at Rice, became the first associate director for academic programs.

Baker Hall, which houses the Baker Institute as well as Rice’s economics and political science departments and the office of the dean of social sciences, was dedicated on October 15, 1997. The building includes a satellite uplink that makes it possible to participate in video teleconferences around the world and to conduct simultaneous webcasts. Its International Conference Facility is equipped to handle simultaneous translation in three languages. Four former U.S. presidents took part in the groundbreaking ceremony for the building on October 20, 1994, either in person or by video: Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush.

The United States government regularly calls on the expertise of the institute on matters ranging from energy to the war in Iraq and conflict resolution in the Middle East, and the institute has helped make Rice a main stop for national and international leaders in government, business, and academia. Among the many notable public figures who have spoken at the Baker Institute are Madeleine Albright, Kofi Annan, Yasser Arafat, George H. W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Mikhail Gorbachev, Alan Greenspan, Helmut Kohl, Nelson Mandela, Vladimir Putin, and Janet Reno.

In addition to hosting globally recognized speakers, the Baker Institute organizes conferences and forums in which experts debate vital issues, ranging from global warming and tax reform to religion and home schooling. Many of the Baker Institute’s programs are designed to take advantage of the particular strengths of Rice University’s faculty, location, and existing collaborations. Health policy, energy, space policy, Latin American relations, and the Middle East have become principal areas of importance for the institute. Conferences and forums dealing with these topics regularly release in-depth reports, which are available at the institute’s website: http://bakerinstitute.org.

Success in such a short time was possible only because of the efforts of hundreds of people and groups at Rice and in the community. Djerejian says he is “deeply grateful” for all the support the institute has received from the university, its leadership, and its faculty and staff; from individual, corporate, and nonprofit supporters; and from the dedicated Baker Institute staff.

“We now face the challenge of bringing the institute forward into its next decade at an enhanced level of excellence and of continuing to be on the cutting edge in the world of public policy.” Djerejian adds with a smile, “Every time someone comes to me with a good idea for a project, I have to find a way to fund it.”