Engineering professor wins football award
Claudia Papanikolas, office manager for the MSU athletic department, said the award is given by the MSU Varsity Alumni "S" Club to former athletes whose athletic career and real-world career post-graduation has brought honor not only to themselves, but to the MSU athletics program as well.
Nominations are taken every year from within the Varsity Alumni "S" Club and reviewed by the club's board members to decide which well-rounded athlete will receive the honor. The recipient is recognized at the club's annual golf outing in June and at a ceremony during halftime of MSU's homecoming football game.
The recipient of the award is expected to maintain high achievement status, spread the word about MSU athletics, be a good representative of Michigan State and serve as a role model to current Spartan athletes.
Baird, an offensive lineman for the Spartans, lettered three years and started for two.
He received All-Big Ten honors, was a member of the team when they went to the national championships in 1966, and was even given the game ball once — a great honor within the football program.
However, as an academic scholarship holder, football was not the only thing on Baird's mind.
"I chose Michigan State because they gave more attention to their students, being a smaller engineering school," Baird said. "I liked football and wanted to see if I could perform at that level, but academics always came first. If football didn't work out, at least I had other things to look at."
Because of his success in both football and academics, Baird was named an Academic All-American and given Academic All-Big Ten honors. His skills in time management and his hard work ethics helped him to juggle the two time-consuming programs efficiently.
"My professors didn't care much about football; I had homework due even the day after the national championships," Baird said. "I would go on the plane or the bus with organic chemistry books while my teammates had comic books."
Baird received his BS in chemical engineering in 1969 and his MS in 1971, both from Michigan State.
He went on to earn his doctorate in 1974 from the University of Wisconsin.
As a chemical engineering professor, he has also received the Alumni Award for Research, the Dean's Award for Research and Teaching, and the Education and Research Award from the Society of Plastics.
John Walz, a fellow professor and the department head of chemical engineering, congratulated Baird on his recognition and noted that his story will be posted on the department Web site and in their newsletter.
"This recognition goes to show that chemical engineers can have lives, and that we're not all bookworms," Walz said. "He may have been the first professor that was also that good of an athlete; the award is well deserved."
While Baird's football career may be over, he still finds ways to bring his memories to the classroom.
"I understand that football is a part of the college experience, and I'll talk about it with my students," Baird said. "My time management while playing football is a big example setter in the classroom; I don't have too much patience for complaining. It's hard stuff, and it can be demanding, but it can be done."
