While still a faculty member at UBC, Baker became one of the chief contributors to John B. Macdonald's report, Higher Education in British Columbia and a Plan for the Future. This report led directly to the government's decision to establish a second university (SFU) in the Lower Mainland. Baker also served on the provincial Academic Board for Higher Education, established to advise the government on applying the recommendations of the Macdonald Report.

Records in this series relate to Baker's work on the Macdonald Report and the Academic Board as well as his role as academic planner and a charter faculty member in the early years of SFU. These files supplement the official records of the Office of Academic Planning, F 49. Includes personal and professional correspondence, reports, reference materials, a memoir by Baker about the early history of SFU, and other documents.