Warren J. Baker, a registered civil engineer in four states, has been President of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo since 1979. Prior to his appointment, Baker served as Chief Academic Officer and Vice President at the University of Detroit and was Chrysler Professor and Dean of the College of Engineering. He was a National Science Foundation Visiting Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Research Associate at the U.S. Air Force Civil Engineering Research Facility at the University of New Mexico.

President Baker was educated in Civil Engineering with a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the University of Notre Dame in Civil Engineering. His Ph.D. is in geotechnical engineering from the University of New Mexico.

In 1983, he was appointed by President Reagan to the A.I.D. Board for International Food and Agriculture Development, and in 1985 he was appointed by the President to the National Science Board, reappointed in 1988 and served in various NSB leadership positions for nine years. He is a founding member of CCST and the California Business-Higher Education Forum. He served as the founding chair of the Board of Directors of the Civil Engineering Research Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by the American Society of Civil Engineers to promote and fund research on the national infrastructure, U.S. competitiveness in design and construction, and the environment. In 1995, President Baker was appointed co-chairman of the new statewide Joint Policy Council on Agriculture and Higher Education.

President Baker was a Trustee of Amigos of EARTH College and a board member of the California Council for Environment and Economic Balance and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. He is a fellow in the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Detroit Engineering Society.

Dr. Baker was named the Engineering Outstanding Alumnus Award recipient from the University of New Mexico in 1983, received the Engineering Honor Award and the Cavanaugh Award (for distinguished public service) from the University of Notre Dame and recognized with the Distinguished Education Achievement Award from the California Society of Professional Engineers. He has published more than 35 papers on technology, distance learning, geotechnical engineering, risk analysis, and engineering education.