Baylor prof a finalist for ‘2014 Texan of the Year’

Dr. Lori Baker, BA ’93, MA ’94, a Baylor alumna and assistant professor of anthropology, could have spent every day of 2014 teaching in her classroom, grading in her office, relaxing in her home, and nothing more. But she knew there was work to be done outside the university walls.

Instead, Baker used her free time in 2014 (and parts of 11 years before it) traveling along the U.S./Mexico border to identify the remains of undocumented immigrants. And for it, she was one of 10 finalists for the 2014 Dallas Morning News’ Texan of the Year.

In one of two stories on Baker, the paper called the Baylor alumna a “big-hearted forensic sleuth and unsung Baylor Nation hero,” and it’s clear why. From her very first case, Baker’s heart was broken thinking of the families who had lost their loved ones. (As it turned out, those first remains were of a 32-year-old mother of two; at the time, Baker was also in her early 30s and pregnant.)

Since that day, Baker has been determined to do more for these forgotten people. In 2003, she founded the Reuniting Families Project to establish a system for identifying the remains of undocumented immigrants. Through the program, she and a group of Baylor students regularly travel along the border to exhume, identify and reunite bodies with their families.

Sic ’em, Dr. Baker!

For more on Baker and her work:
* Spotlight falls on Baylor prof’s work identifying remains in South Texas (June 2014)
* ABC, CBS news highlight Baylor prof’s work to give migrant families closure (July 2013)
* Forensics prof uses skills to bring closure to migrant families missing loved ones (Feb. 2012)