Every five years, the Baker Scholars Program hosts Father Davis Weekend, a reunion which invites the Baker alumni community and their families to return to the Hilltop. The Fall 2023 event was even more special, as the program celebrated its 50th year at Georgetown.
The weekend is named in honor of the program’s chief architect, Royden B. Davis, S.J., who served as dean of Georgetown College of Arts & Sciences from 1966 to 1989. In 1973, he brought the Baker Scholars Program to Georgetown, supported by philanthropist George F. Baker, who strongly believed that future business leaders needed to be educated in the liberal arts and inspired with a social conscience.
The program, administered by the College of Arts & Sciences, gives students the opportunity to interact with business and nonprofit executives, building confidence and connections across a range of industries and functions. Mentorship is one of the hallmarks of the program. A new database makes it easier for scholars to stay in touch with one another.
“There has been terrific camaraderie among the scholars,” says founding trustee Vince Wolfington (C’62). “The culture we built was to be in service to one another as well as the people with whom we are working.”
At the 2023 reunion event, current and former Baker Scholars assembled emergency hygiene kits for the homeless clients of Friendship Place in Washington, DC.
Through community service activities, exploration of nonprofits, and education about corporate responsibility, the Baker Scholars Program prepares students to be agents of positive change in the business world.
