It was a busy media week for Albion College economics and management professor Vicki Baker, who was featured in two online publications that focused on two topics she has studied extensively: the value of a liberal arts education, and the obstacles and opportunities facing mid-career academic professionals.

On Monday, January 28, she was quoted extensively in Metro Parent magazine, a publication based in Ferndale, Michigan, in a story regarding the decisions parents and students face between applying to a large college and a small one.

Baker said it comes down to two questions: “What’s best for the student?” and “How best do they learn?” She added, “You need to spend time talking to current students, sit in on a class or two and engage with faculty. Sometimes it’s a gut feeling, and sometimes they’re surprised positively or negatively. Ask yourself, ‘Can I see myself spending the next four years here?’”

Then on Wednesday January 30, her column titled “Academe Needs to Take a Cue from Industry” was published on the popular and influential Inside Higher Education website. The piece explored what academic institutions could do to help mid-career professionals.

“They can start by understanding that, while the issues mid-career faculty members face often transcend institutional settings, it is up to individual colleges and universities to provide the support and advocacy those faculty members need,” she wrote.

Baker has written often on both subjects and her most recent book, Success After Tenure: Supporting Mid-career Faculty, was recently published by Stylus Publishing, LLC.