Nelson C. Baker is the interim senior associate dean for strategy for the College of Lifetime Learning, providing strategic guidance and institutional insights as well as continuing to serve as a faculty member for the College.

Having been one of the leaders in the Georgia Institute of Technology's online programs’ creation, including the three affordable online master’s at scale, Baker was then one of the leading strategists who worked to create the College of Lifetime Learning through the rationale, governance processes, and initial formation. He then served as inaugural interim dean of the College of Lifetime Learning and professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Tech . As interim dean, Baker led a multifaceted enterprise comprising Tech's research, educational programs, activities, and services for the ongoing educational needs of individuals and the workforce throughout a lifetime, from the early stages of one’s life to the later stages of their career.  

The College consists of three internationally recognized organizations: the Center for 21st Century Universities (C21U), the Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing (CEISMC), and Georgia Tech Professional Education (GTPE). The new College, created in 2024, started as a division in 2023 under Baker’s leadership. Before this role, Baker served as the dean of professional education.    

Baker’s award-winning work on the impact of technology on engineering students’ learning has generated projects such as multilingual web-based intelligent simulations for problem-solving, among others. Leading Nelson’s list of honors are the W.M. Keck Foundation Award for Engineering Teaching Excellence and the University Professional Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) Julius M. Nolte Award for Extraordinary Leadership. He has also been named an ENR Educator for Construction’s Next Generation and an NSF National Young Investigator. He also received the Best Paper Award from the ASCE Journal of Computing. Within the Institute, he has received the Outstanding Innovative Use of Education Technology Award and the W. Roane Beard Outstanding Teacher Award.    

Baker has served as the secretary general of the International Association of Continuing Engineering Education (IACEE) and is a past president of the University Professional Continuing Education Association (UPCEA). He is the past chair of the Georgia Board of Regents Administrative Committee on Public Service and Continuing Education and an active member of ASEE and ASCE. 

Baker graduated from Georgia Tech with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. He earned his master's and doctorate in civil engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.