Madge Baughman followed her brother, Burr ’64, to Willamette. A member of Pi Beta Phi, she graduated with a degree in political science and married fellow classmate Keith Bauer ’69. Madge then taught third and fourth grade for several years in a federal project school in Salem, leading to a lifelong commitment to public education.
When the children (Katie and John ’01, JD’05) were small, Madge helped start Baker Kindergarten, the first free public kindergarten in Salem. She then helped found and served as the first president of the Salem-Keizer Education Foundation (SKEF), which funds grants to teachers in public schools. Madge co-chaired Yes for Schools campaigns for local school budgets and chaired the Education First lobbying group for public schools. In association with a cadre of others, Madge founded and was board president of Abiqua School, and served on its board of trustees for many years.
Education has not been Madge’s only volunteer venue, however. She was a founding board member and president of Gilbert House Children’s Museum and served as president of the Children’s Theatre Foundation of America. Madge was also a founding board member of Fairmount Hill Community Foundation, a local nonprofit providing small targeted acts of charity, such as paying DACA fees for South Salem High School students. Last fall, Madge and Keith received the Oregon Artists Series Foundation Award for Arts Activism.
