{"id":64991,"date":"2017-02-28T09:28:25","date_gmt":"2017-02-28T15:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/?p=64991"},"modified":"2017-02-28T09:28:25","modified_gmt":"2017-02-28T15:28:25","slug":"dallas-baker-lands-top-post-neel-schaffer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/dallas-baker-lands-top-post-neel-schaffer\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas Baker Lands a Top Post at Neel-Schaffer"},"content":{"rendered":"

UM Mechanical Engineering alum Dallas Baker is now the Director of Environmental Quality for Neel-Schaffer Inc. in Jackson. (Submitted photo)<\/p><\/div>\n

Dallas Baker (BSME 93, MS 97) has retired from a longtime job, but he isn’t finishing working yet.<\/p>\n

After serving nearly 24 years with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality in a variety of roles, the mechanical engineering alumnus has joined Neel-Schaffer Inc. of Jackson as the firm\u2019s director of environmental services.<\/p>\n

\u201cI lead a team of engineers, geologists and technicians in assessing properties and facilities owned by clients who seek help in complying with environmental regulations, then provide engineering solutions to meet their business goals,\u201d Baker said. \u201cThe diversity of the work and its people is what makes this firm strong and what attracted me to remain in Mississippi as a practicing engineer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baker plans to enhance the capabilities of Neel-Schaffer\u2019s environmental services to enable the firm to better serve a wider variety of industrial clients across the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are excited about Dallas Baker joining our firm to lead our environmental services,\u201d said Keith O\u2019Keefe, PE, senior vice president for Neel-Schaffer\u2019s central Mississippi operations. \u201cHe brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in environmental engineering to our firm that will shape our growth in that discipline. Dallas is widely respected across the environmental landscape, and we look forward to having his vision and leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

A registered professional engineer in the state of Mississippi, Baker most recently served MDEQ as air director and chief of its Air Division. There he was responsible for maintaining National Ambient Air Quality Standards and policies affecting statewide programs that control air pollution. In previous roles, he managed air and water permit projects for several industrial facilities in the energy, chemical, manufacturing and wood products sectors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition to establishing the fundamentals of mechanical engineering, my Ole Miss degree exposed me to leadership, business, liberal arts and other disciplines that gave me the confidence to seek organizational management roles,\u201d he said. \u201cIt has led me to be a more versatile leader in the workplace and in professional associations, and influence operations that affect environmental engineering practices well beyond what I had expected.\u201d<\/p>\n

A native of Oxford, Baker attended the university because his father, John Baker, was a professor of medicinal chemistry in the School of Pharmacy, who encouraged him to attend and major in professional studies of some sort.<\/p>\n

\u201cMechanical engineering was the best fit, and I knew then a degree from Ole Miss would open doors that build a rewarding career,\u201d Baker said.<\/p>\n

As an undergraduate, Baker said he was privileged to study under many great professors. His favorite was Karl Brenkert, a former dean of the School of Engineering and professor of mechanical engineering.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe spent significant time encouraging us to use an engineering degree to benefit society, as well as to uphold the highest ethical and professional standards,\u201d Baker said. \u201cHe encouraged us to seek the Fundamentals of Engineering exam, which led me to be a licensed professional engineer. Dr. Brenkert made a lasting impression on me and hundreds of students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baker serves as secretary of the Ole Miss School of Engineering Advisory Board and president of the Mississippi Energy Coordinators Association. He was recently elected by his peers as international president of the Air & Waste Management Association, an organization of environmental professionals with over 100 chapters located in 65 countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my role as president, I lead its board of directors and (uphold) its stated mission and core purpose through strategic planning, sound financial management and exercising leadership principles I\u2019ve acquired throughout my career, going back to my days at the university.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baker said the position was particularly gratifying because he was able to be an ambassador from the state of Mississippi and its flagship university to cities across America and countries such as Canada and China.<\/p>\n

He is board certified by the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists, and is a certified public manager.<\/p>\n

Besides his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and master’s degree in environmental engineering from Ole Miss, Baker also earned an MBA from Mississippi College.<\/p>\n

He and his wife, Marla, are the parents of two teenagers: Paris, 15, and William, 13. One of the family\u2019s favorite annual trips is its vacation in Fort Myers, Florida, in the week between Christmas and returning to school after the New Year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe avoid winter where we can, even the Mississippi variety,\u201d Baker said.<\/p>\n

Baker\u2019s father; mother, Shelly Baker; and sister Diane (BA 93), live in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a privilege to give back to a university that has meant so much to me and my family,\u201d Baker said. \u201cWe bleed red and blue!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dallas Baker (BSME 93, MS 97) has retired from a longtime job, but he isn’t finishing working yet. After serving nearly 24 years with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality in a variety of roles, the mechanical engineering alumnus has joined Neel-Schaffer Inc. of Jackson as the firm\u2019s director of environmental services. \u201cI lead aRead the story …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1315,765,1297],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nDallas Baker Lands a Top Post at Neel-Schaffer - Ole Miss News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/dallas-baker-lands-top-post-neel-schaffer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dallas Baker Lands a Top Post at Neel-Schaffer - Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dallas Baker (BSME 93, MS 97) has retired from a longtime job, but he isn’t finishing working yet. After serving nearly 24 years with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality in a variety of roles, the mechanical engineering alumnus has joined Neel-Schaffer Inc. of Jackson as the firm\u2019s director of environmental services. \u201cI lead aRead the story …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/dallas-baker-lands-top-post-neel-schaffer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-02-28T15:28:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Headshot-AWMA-200x300.jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@OleMissRebels\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@OleMissRebels\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/\",\"name\":\"Ole Miss News\",\"description\":\"The official source for University of Mississippi news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/dallas-baker-lands-top-post-neel-schaffer\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Headshot-AWMA-200x300.jpeg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/dallas-baker-lands-top-post-neel-schaffer\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/dallas-baker-lands-top-post-neel-schaffer\/\",\"name\":\"Dallas Baker Lands a Top Post at Neel-Schaffer - Ole Miss News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/dallas-baker-lands-top-post-neel-schaffer\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-02-28T15:28:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-02-28T15:28:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/6f4ed6d2875ea26cc820d0eb0568d652\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/dallas-baker-lands-top-post-neel-schaffer\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/6f4ed6d2875ea26cc820d0eb0568d652\",\"name\":\"esmith\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/1.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47640a561d7e19d1e29d52a4797cff04?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"esmith\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64991"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64991"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65397,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64991\/revisions\/65397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}