Richard M Baker Scholarship Endowment

Raised in San Francisco, Mr. Baker became a first-generation college graduate in his forties, long after he had established himself as a capable and talented banker. Using his experience and education, Dick researched and then proposed to Governor Ed Herschler the idea of a private nonprofit student loan secondary market for the State of Wyoming. Governor Herschler accepted the idea and Wyoming Student Loan Corporation opened in 1980. Wyoming Student Loan Corporation assisted more than 100,000 students in obtaining their dream of a college education with almost a billion dollars in student assistance.

Later, provisions in the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HCERA), enacted by Congress and signed by The President, prohibited all nonprofit student loan organizations in the country from further assisting students. Instead, the law made the federal government the sole lender under the federal student loan program.

It was Mr. Baker’s desire to provide scholarship assistance in addition to the student loan option. Scholarships have been established at Wyoming’s seven original community colleges and the University of Wyoming in his honor. The Richard M. Baker Scholarship fund will enable qualified students to pursue their career and educational goals for generations.

Mr. Baker passed away in 2006. His widow, Rosalyn Wallach-Baker, resides in Cheyenne. They both were active in the Cheyenne community, serving on several non-profit boards and community organizations. Mr. Baker was president of the Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce, served on the Salvation Army Board of Directors, and was a founding director of the Cheyenne Depot Museum.