University of Rochester Alum Named Director of the David T. Kearns Center for Leadership and Diversity

“The work that we do here is working. It’s promising, It’s inspiring.”

Promising and inspiring. Those are the words that Director Miguel Baique uses to describe the future of the David T. Kearns Center for Leadership and Diversity in Arts, Sciences & Engineering (AS&E) at the University of Rochester.

Baique was recently selected to serve as director of the Kearns Center, a perfect fit, according to executive and founding director of the Kearns Center and dean for diversity, Dr. Beth Olivares. “As one might imagine, we had a number of well-qualified applicants for this position, including folks from across the country. After a rigorous screening and interview process that included students, many of our campus partners and AS&E deans, Miguel was the clear choice. He has a wide-ranging background in student access and success programs, is intellectually grounded and curious about the ways in which the Center can continue to grow and flourish.”

It’s a homecoming of sorts for Baique who completed his doctoral degree in education administration at the University of Rochester in 2021. Because of his time spent in Rochester, Baique already has a great understanding of the University of Rochester campus community and the City of Rochester as a whole. Olivares says Baique’s level of understanding has already proved to be beneficial. “Because the work we do is both national in scope and deeply embedded in the University and in the City of Rochester—all of our pre-college programs are within the Rochester City School District—having that local knowledge allowed Miguel to step into important conversations and decision points with a ready knowledge base that supported a deep level of interactions very quickly” Olivares said.

Since March when Baique stepped into his new role, he has been focused on managing the day-to-day operations of the center, and working to strengthen the center’s support of first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented students. He has also been tasked with working to define and implement a strategic plan to carry the Kearns Center into the next decade. Writing the next chapter may sound daunting to others but not for Baique. He is energized and excited by the work the Kearns Center does and credits its success to the staff who work at the center, and the atmosphere Olivares has been able cultivate. “I’ve entered a culture and [joined] a team that are already doing great things, and they are ready to see what’s next, the excitement is there!”

Big Dreams Lead Baique “Home” to Rochester

Baique could not be more excited for the opportunity to work with underrepresented students with whom he closely identifies. “It means a lot that I can give back to students who resonate with my story,” Baique says, “and I resonate with theirs.” For Baique, representation plays a critical role in helping marginalized students see themselves in positions of leadership in a world that welcomes and promotes them. Baique wants students to ask themselves the question he himself has had to ask—‘why not me?’

Raised in Queens, NY, the son of an immigrant mother from Peru, Baique is a first-generation college graduate. Growing up the youngest of six siblings in a single parent household was not always easy, but Baique credits his mother—whom he calls his inspiration—as the glue that held everything together. As a younger child, Baique says he didn’t really know much about what college or higher education could mean for him, but he knew it could be a difference maker. “My circumstances were not the definition of my life. And so, when I was young at nine years old, I told myself I’d take my education seriously, and I did.” In high school Baique worked full time so he could support himself and give back to his family. It wasn’t until a recruiter from SUNY Geneseo came to his high school and got him thinking about pursing higher education, that Baique started to imagine the possibilities.

When it came time to apply to colleges Baique had to use the only free time he had, his train commute to either work or school, to write his college essays. He was accepted at SUNY Geneseo, able to afford a college education through the Education Opportunity Program—a state program that serves low-income students - and double majored in sociology and communications.

Baique says even though his surroundings changed—from the hustle and bustle of NYC to the quieter atmosphere of Geneseo—he was constantly busy. Participating in five different clubs and organizations in his first year and soaking up every bit of it, Baique says Geneseo was critical for his growth, not only for the education he received, but the experiences he was able to have and the relationships he was able to make. “I was cultivating this wider world view, perspective and community that transformed me.”

His education at Geneseo prompted him to pursue a master’s degree in public administration at SUNY Brockport and then to attend graduate school at the University of Rochester for his doctorate. “I ended up going to the University of Rochester in an interesting way,” Baique says. He initially applied for the PhD program in education policy, was interviewed, but ultimately got denied. Baique says the University of Rochester urged him to consider a doctorate (EdD) in higher education—an idea he initially shot down, but reconsidered when a colleague he worked with asked him the simple question “Why not?” That question helped make all the difference. He applied, got accepted and hasn’t regretted his decision. “I look back and I’m so glad I decided to go for the EdD” Baique said.

It hasn’t been an easy road. Baique admits there were times he contemplated not finishing his graduate degree, but credits his mentors, advisors and his family for helping him push through and graduate with his doctorate in less than three years. “I sacrificed so much. I sacrificed time with my wife, with my family. I was not available, but I don’t regret it. I did it, and I did it well,” Baique said. “It prompted me to think bigger and want to be a better advocate and be a better practitioner.”

After getting his doctorate, Baique went on to become assistant dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion and the academic diversity officer at the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science at Binghamton University. He enjoyed his time there, but says Rochester was really the place that felt like home. So, when he saw the opening for the position of Director of the David T. Kearns Center at the University of Rochester, he felt like he had to apply. “I [felt] like this could potentially be my time to come in,” Baique said. And it was; he was offered the position, accepted it, and got straight to work.

At 30 years old, a first-generation college student from a low income and racially minoritized background, working at the Kearns Center feels like a full circle moment, according to Baique, one he soon won’t forget. “It was a moment of coming back home, and that’s what I needed. And by home, I mean second home in terms of Rochester, NY, but also this is my alma mater” Baique said, “To live by the principal of ever better, Meliora, for me to be able to do that, that is what I have always been preaching, to always be better and do better. Again, for the sake of our students. Particularly for our underrepresented students.”

The Future of the Kearns Center is Bright

For Baique the position of director of the Kearns Center is much more than a job. It’s an opportunity to grow the center to continue to serve a student population that has historically been marginalized.

“I think it’s all a matter of fine tuning the system so that we can be bigger and better, or if not bigger just better. Ever better.” Olivares agrees and says the center has come a long way and is poised to enter a new chapter. “As the founding director of the center, I’ve had 20 years of strategic visioning to get us where we are now—a center that supports well over 1,500 students from high school through the doctorate annually—with lots of educational experiences, social and emotional support, financial resources, and connections to support their lifelong dreams,” Olivares says. “Our alumni are successful and making impacts on the world in multiple domains. Yet the problems of poverty, racism, and other obstacles to success in higher education for students who come from low-income families, are the first in their families to attend college or who are members of minoritized racial groups remain stubbornly in place. The center’s work is far from over, and now it’s time for Miguel and the rest of the team to determine what is needed for our populations of students into the next decades and beyond.” 

The center may expand and grow but its mission will never change. It’s a mission to transform lives through educational opportunity; a mission to support students from diverse backgrounds and see them succeed in higher education; a mission to provide scholarships and support services to students who may face barriers that make it harder to pursue an educational degree. Baique is committed to that mission through and through. “Beth and I align with how we see things, which is really reassuring.” Baique says Olivares has given him the opportunity to find his own identity within the role, something he says he doesn’t take for granted. He says these past few months have been joyful to get to learn from such a “giant and powerhouse” like Olivares.

Baique may not have all the answers, but he feels that through his experience he has been able to identify and harness powers that make big impacts, the power of education, the power of conversation and the power of purpose. That, coupled with a ‘never give up’ attitude and one simple question—“Why not me?—has made all the difference for Baique. “This is where I think I was meant to be. And that is why this is so exciting because of the fact that I’ve seen this place grow, I’ve seen the work of the center and now I’m here helping to assist the mission.” Baique says.“I think this is my time, this is our time. And I’m grateful for having people on the team that are just as mission oriented as I am.”