Phil Baker

BA, BEd, MEd

As Director of UWinnipeg’s Faculty of Education ACCESS program since 2003, Phil Baker has created new pathways into post-secondary life for countless students, especially Aboriginal students and those from minority groups. Finding innovative ways to meet real student needs, Phil has helped ensure many students graduate and become successful teachers in our community.

Phil has strengthened the academic rigour of the Winnipeg Education Centre program, developed to serve students in the inner city. Under his leadership, enrolment has been stabilized, retention rates have soared, and the hiring rate of graduates has increased dramatically.  

Phil has also developed and helped to expand other successful programs, including the Community-based Aboriginal Teacher Education Program. This allows educational assistants to work while studying part-time, so they may become teachers in their own right. The program has expanded to service seven school divisions, including two First Nations communities. The Immigrant Teacher Education Program supports newcomers with teaching backgrounds in gaining the credentials needed to teach in Manitoba. The Aboriginal Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in Education helps build and support Aboriginal teachers’ skill sets.

In addition to playing an invaluable role within the Faculty of Education, Phil works with community groups on a regular basis and has delivered keynote addresses about UWinnipeg’s ACCESS program in Vancouver, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Nairobi, Germany, and England. He has further enhanced UWinnipeg’s reputation through numerous publications.

For his unwavering commitment to broader community inclusion in education, The University of Winnipeg is proud to present Phil Baker with the Marsha Hanen Award for Excellence in Creating Community Awareness.