I write today to acknowledge the passing of Dr. Rollin Baldwin, namesake, first Board chair, and last living founder of the Baldwin School of Puerto Rico. Dr. Baldwin, a World War II naval officer, professor, champion of the arts, and highly respected international educator, was the impetus for our school. His legacy is secure in the strength of our institution today.
Dr. Baldwin, founder of a similar concept school in New York in 1948, was approached with the idea of beginning a new school in Puerto Rico soon after his early work with local educators at the University of Puerto Rico. In 1964, with support and counsel from Dr. Walter Anderson, then Dean of Education at New York University, and the Honorable Luis A. Ferré, Governor of Puerto Rico, Dr. Baldwin penned the philosophy and guiding principles for the new school. His was an international concept based in a liberal secular western tradition met to advance pedagogy, combat alarming political and military trends of the period, and embrace emerging globalization.
Dr. Baldwin moved quickly to secure a founder's group of local movers committed to his school concept, a veritable who's who of the time, with strong local and international ties. Together they leveraged their contacts to secure funding and improve the idea. Site selection prioritized space. According to Baldwin, the awkward site, with a single, isolated rural road and no supporting residential community, was "hardly a location for a new school." In retrospect, the selection of location was nothing short of inspired, and is the strength of the campus to this day.
The school's early years were challenging. The campus was in desperate need of infrastructure. There was no capital to speak of, and the founders were called upon again and again to subsidize the nascent school. In spite of overwhelming odds, Dr. Baldwin and his co-founders, thru sheer tenacity and the strength of their own check books, willed a more sustainable Baldwin School into existence. Today, Baldwin is recognized as an elite school throughout the Caribbean basin.
On behalf of a grateful Baldwin community, forty-eight years on, we recognize the inexhaustible energy, enthusiasm, commitment, and foresight of a world class educator. We will truly miss Dr. Baldwin, and are so very thankful for his enduring contribution to the children of Puerto Rico.
Dr. Baldwin, founder of a similar concept school in New York in 1948, was approached with the idea of beginning a new school in Puerto Rico soon after his early work with local educators at the University of Puerto Rico. In 1964, with support and counsel from Dr. Walter Anderson, then Dean of Education at New York University, and the Honorable Luis A. Ferré, Governor of Puerto Rico, Dr. Baldwin penned the philosophy and guiding principles for the new school. His was an international concept based in a liberal secular western tradition met to advance pedagogy, combat alarming political and military trends of the period, and embrace emerging globalization.
Dr. Baldwin moved quickly to secure a founder's group of local movers committed to his school concept, a veritable who's who of the time, with strong local and international ties. Together they leveraged their contacts to secure funding and improve the idea. Site selection prioritized space. According to Baldwin, the awkward site, with a single, isolated rural road and no supporting residential community, was "hardly a location for a new school." In retrospect, the selection of location was nothing short of inspired, and is the strength of the campus to this day.
The school's early years were challenging. The campus was in desperate need of infrastructure. There was no capital to speak of, and the founders were called upon again and again to subsidize the nascent school. In spite of overwhelming odds, Dr. Baldwin and his co-founders, thru sheer tenacity and the strength of their own check books, willed a more sustainable Baldwin School into existence. Today, Baldwin is recognized as an elite school throughout the Caribbean basin.
On behalf of a grateful Baldwin community, forty-eight years on, we recognize the inexhaustible energy, enthusiasm, commitment, and foresight of a world class educator. We will truly miss Dr. Baldwin, and are so very thankful for his enduring contribution to the children of Puerto Rico.