WVU at Parkersburg Business/Economics Faculty

Professor Debra Baker
WVU Parkersburg

Instructor Background

One of the drawbacks to Alternative Delivery Courses and Electronic Courses, which I have discovered is that we meet together so infrequently as a class that it is sometimes hard to really get to know your instructor and your classmates. I am hopeful that by sharing a brief biographical sketch you will begin to feel as though you know me personally.

Debra Baker I received my undergraduate degree in Business Education in 1974 (yes, that makes me old) from West Liberty State College. I completed my MBA in l987 from California State University, San Bernardino, CA. I completed an Education Specialist Degree in Higher Education Leadership in 2006 from Marshall University. My work experience includes a brief stint in the law offices of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel in Pittsburgh, PA and 11 years as a Claims Representative for the Social Security Administration working in offices in Wheeling, WV, Douglas AZ, and Victorville, CA.

I've been teaching at West Virginia University at Parkersburg since 1989. I've been working on my PhD at Marshall University Graduate College in Charleston, WV. (This means I can relate to the pressures of homework, papers, deadlines, and commute times.) I teach 5 classes each semester and typically 3 additional classes during the summer .

On the home front, I have 3 wonderful, brilliant, sometimes trying children (I'll bet more than one of you can relate to this.) My daughter, Adrienne age 27 is a Marietta College graduate, completed her Masters Degree in Integrated Marketing Communications at WVU and is working on her Doctorate in Higher Ed Leadership. My daughter, Whitney, age 23, is a graduate of WVU (Morgantown) with a degree in Marketing and is working in Washington D.C. My son, Andrew is 21, attends college at WVU-P and is “finding his way” so to speak.

As an instructor, my number one concern is that you learn something useful, not just rote memorization. I also feel like it's part of my responsibility to insure you know the meaning of a deadline. For this reason I am very firm about not accepting work late.

I guess maybe I'm from a dying era of people who were drilled to death with diagramming sentences for proper grammar structure as a small child (those of you over 35 can probably relate to this.) For this reason, I am very insistent that all work submitted be carefully checked for spelling and grammatical errors. The longer I teach, the more I see this as a significant weakness in many students. On a lighter note, I do have a sense of humor, believe in fairness, and truly want you to be successful here at WVU at Parkersburg. Because I teach all my classes electronically, I am not on campus regularly, but please feel free to e-mail me with any concerns or call me. Office hours are posted on my office door (Room 1021B).