12 May 2008
Media release
Heading University's International Student Recruitment
David Baker, an influential British figure in international education, has been appointed as the new Director of
Auckland International at The University of Auckland.
Arriving in September he will lead international marketing and recruitment, admission and enrolment, student exchange,
study abroad, and international student support programmes.
Mr Baker has been Director of the International Office at Durham University, one of Britain's top research institutions,
since 2004. There he has not only overseen a 50 percent increase in international students but has also helped
strengthen Durham's international research profile.
Previously he spent 18 years as head of the International Office at Leeds University. He is on the executive board of
the Education UK Partnership and a member of the Prime Minister's Initiative Higher Education Advisory Group, and is
regularly consulted by both Universities UK and the British Council on future trends in international education. As well
as a deep knowledge of his field he has developed a broad range of international contacts.
Mr Baker holds a bachelors degree in modern languages (Russian and Spanish) from what is now the University of
Wolverhampton.
He was attracted to Auckland by the University's "very clear internationalisation vision which underpins the overall
strategy and is not simply an add-on to normal activity.
"The biggest challenge for us is to translate our excellent rankings into a greater international profile so that we are
seen as a preferred partner for collaborative research and the training of faculty in the rapidly expanding higher
education systems of developing countries."
ENDS