After 43 years as a teacher, coach and athletic director, Roanoke College basketball legend Michael Baker ’81 is hanging up his athletic director hat.
Baker was a star member of the basketball team at Roanoke, where he helped secure the first ODAC Championship and NCAA Division III Tournament bid in 1981. He’s known as one of the “Four Horsemen” (along with other Class of 1981 players Ken Belton, Michael Styles and Bruce Hembrick) who played in both the Div. II and Div. III National Tournaments. He was the 1981 ODAC Player of the Year and Virginia Small College Player of the Year, and he was selected for the South Atlantic All-Tournament, First-Team Regional All-American and Second-Team All-American.
Baker played in 108 games during his career, finishing with 1,248 career points. He was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.
After graduating with a degree in biology, Baker immediately went to work in his home school district of Robeson County, North Carolina. He was the head basketball coach at Fairmont High School for a total of 28 years. Since 1994, he has served as the athletic director. Over the years, he has also coached tennis, softball and, more recently, volleyball.
Baker said he never planned to coach volleyball, but when some students asked him about starting a team, he said “Bring me 10 players and I’ll consider it.” They brought him more than that, so he honored his promise and ended up loving it almost as much as he loves coaching basketball.
As an athletic director, his rule has been to attend as many games as he can, both home and away. “I love to see kids play,” he said. “If you want a good rapport with the students, let them see you at their games.”
In retirement, Baker said, he has no immediate plans other than to relax and enjoy time with his friends and family.
Tiffany Rawling ’02 was named chief operations officer for Valley Wealth Group (VWG), a regional wealth management firm that specializes in financial and retirement planning. The firm has locations in Roanoke, Virginia, and Morehead City, North Carolina.
Rawling has been with VWG as client service director since the firm was founded in 2015. She has provided leadership in both day-to-day operations and strategic planning, and she has been instrumental in keeping up with shifting industry regulations and compliance.
Prior to joining VWG, Rawling was a financial consultant for SunTrust Investment Services, Inc. She has also worked as a financial advisor for AXA Advisors. She earned a degree in business administration at Roanoke, where she was a member of Chi Omega sorority.
Two Maroons — Terri Fox ’90 and Ryan Hutchison ’05 — were nominated for awards at the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council’s TechNite celebration in May.
Fox, the chief information officer for Roanoke College, was nominated for a STEM-H Educator Award in the higher education category. Fox created the IT Student Assistant work training program, which employs more than 40 students at Roanoke College each year. Not only do the students provide essential IT services to the college community; many of them go on to careers in the IT field after leaving Roanoke. Fox mentors the students to make sure they gain the skills necessary to be successful in the field. Fox joined Roanoke’s IT team in 1983 as a computer operator, and over her 41-year career with the school, she has served as a software developer, user services/systems specialist and associate chief information officer.
Hutchison was nominated for the STEM-H Educator Award in the K-12 category for his work with Roanoke County Public Schools. Hutchison joined RCPS from Luna Innovations, Inc., where he was a corporate financial planning and analysis manager. At William Byrd Middle School, he teaches technology and education students using engaging and innovative lessons. He even uses a flight simulator to help students considering careers in aviation. Hutchison has also coached track, basketball and football at William Byrd Middle, and he is currently the J.V. head football coach at Northside High School. Also this year, he was named a finalist for the Roanoke County Green Apple Award, which recognizes the best teachers in RCPS.
Roanoke College President Frank Shushok Jr. was also nominated for a TechNite award in the Regional Leadership category for the many new initiatives and partnerships he has spearheaded in his short time at Roanoke.
Do you know an alum we should include in our next news roundup? Email us at rcmagazine@roanoke.edu.