Andrew Carnegie probably never considered making a gift in honor of fellow philanthropist John D. Rockefeller.

But on Monday afternoon, one champion of Bates philanthropy honored another as the College inaugurated the Helen A. Papaioanou, M.D. ’49 Chair in the Biological Sciences, established as part of a multimillion gift several years ago by Ralph T. Perry ’51 and his wife, Mary Louise Seldenfleur.

“The establishment of this chair honors the value of relationships that begin at Bates and give so much to the world,” said President Elaine Tuttle Hansen.

At the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall event, Pamela J. Baker ’70, the first Helen A. Papaioanou Professor of Biological Sciences, offered her inaugural lecture, “Immunology in the Liberal Arts and Sciences.”

Helen Papaioanou, the chair’s namesake, and donor Ralph Perry shared the Bates campus for two years as students, but their close friendship blossomed in more recent times as they emerged as the two highest-profile leaders of Bates philanthropy.

“When we were students, I think I was aware that Helen was the one who spent her time in the labs, and she was aware that I was the one who spent my time on the athletic fields,” Perry said. “Over the last 10 years, we have become real friends as we are now on the same life path.”

Papaionou, a retired Detroit-area pediatrician who specialized in allergy and immunology, served as a Bates trustee for 34 years. Chair of the 1991-96 Bates Campaign, she earned an honorary Doctor of Science degree in 1997 and received the highest alumni honor, the Benjamin E. Mays Medal, in 2003.

“After Milt Lindholm,” Perry said, referencing the revered dean emeritus of admissions, who was in the audience Monday, “no other Bates graduate is held in higher esteem than Helen Papaioanou.”

As an undergraduate, Perry honed his amore ac studio spirit in Bates athletics, earning nine varsity letters while majoring in history. An entrepreneur, he is the retired founder of Progressive Distributors in Winthrop, now a subsidiary of the Hannaford grocery chain. During the 1990s, Perry donated more than $6.5 million to Bates to support financial aid and the academic program, $1.5 million of which established the permanently endowed Papaioanou chair.

“Your gift is now living and breathing for Bates,” Papaioanou said. “Ralph and Mary Louise: We celebrate you, we honor you and we cherish you.”

Jill Reich, dean of the faculty and vice president for academic affairs, introduced Baker, who is also an associate dean of the faculty, by describing one of the professor’s “typical” days.

“She begins her day doing research, perhaps with a student in Carnegie,” Reich said, noting Baker’s eminence as a researcher of alveolar bone loss in periodontal disease. Baker might then head back to Lane Hall to discuss a major foundation grant proposal, followed by a search-committee meeting for a new hire in the English faculty. Then she might work on a report outlining needed financial support for faculty research.

Then comes a conference call discussing initiatives among Maine’s biomedical research centers and a lecture to students in the famous Short Term biology unit, “Cell Hell,” followed by a meeting with an architect designing a new digital imaging center. “Then it’s off to the Den for lunch,” Reich said to laughter from the audience.

“That may be an exaggeration,” continued the dean. “But Pam certainly excels as a scholar, teacher and leader. She puts her mind and heart into everything she does.”

Baker discussed both her research and the value of pursuing scholarship within a liberal arts community, where interaction with colleagues across the academic spectrum keeps a scholar’s mind alive.

Baker focuses on periodontal (gum) disease and the complex relationship between the immune systen and susceptibility to this disease. Contrary to conventional assumptions, Baker’s research shows that a healthy immune system can trigger resorption (the removal of bone tissue) in the jaw, a common result of periodontal disease.

Also, she has found that the presence of certain genes and whether or not they are in use affect predisposition to the disease.

In her talk, Baker also noted the continuous and invigorating overlap between teaching and research, and “the pleasure of working with a wonderful group of thesis students over the years.”

“It is a real honor to be chosen for a distinction that pays tribute to such a wonderful person as Helen, who embodies the best of our mission at Bates,” says Baker. “She has had a distinguished career as a doctor, and is a warm and generous person who has always taken the time to get to know faculty and staff and support their work.”

Bates College has named Pamela Baker, a biology professor known for her research into periodontal disease, as the college’s first Helen A. Papaioanou Professor of Biological Sciences.

This endowed professorship honors Dr. Papaioanou, of Grosse Pointe City, Mich. A member of the Bates class of 1949 and a trustee emerita, Papaioanou is a longtime allergy, asthma and immunology specialist in the Detroit area. The Papaioanou chair was established with a gift from Ralph Perry, class of 1951, and his wife, Mary Louise Seldenfleur, of Orrs Island.

“It is a real honor to be chosen for a distinction that pays tribute to such a wonderful person as Helen, who embodies the best of our mission at Bates,” says Baker. “She has had a distinguished career as a doctor, and is a warm and generous person who has always taken the time to get to know faculty and staff and support their work.”

A member of the Bates class of 1970, Baker began teaching at Bates in 1989. Her teaching focuses on cell and molecular biology and immunology. As a researcher, Baker has developed a laboratory model for periodontal disease that she has used to demonstrate the roles of genetics and the immune system in bone loss in the jaw. This research is widely recognized in the field of immunology and has earned major grant support from the National Institutes of Health. In addition, Baker has involved many student research collaborators in this work.

“Pam Baker possesses an incredible intellectual generosity, devoting her time and considerable talents to her students, involving them in her research and helping them make their own scientific discoveries,” says Jill Reich, dean of faculty. “And beyond all that, she herself is an indefatigable learner. Her curiosity and openness to new ideas make her a model for students and fellow faculty alike.”

Baker recently received a Phillips Faculty Fellowship at Bates to support her sabbatical research during the next academic year, and a Fulbright Fellowship to support her work during the sabbatical on the development of research-based undergraduate biochemistry curricula with faculty at Maulana Azad Dental College in Delhi, India.

Baker has been a creative and effective faculty leader. She was instrumental in establishing the college’s Program in Biological Chemistry and has served as chair of the Division of the Natural Sciences and, most recently, as associate dean of the faculty.

Baker and her husband, David Baker, have lived in Auburn for eight years. A member of the Bates class of 1970, David Baker is an associate at Willow Run Dental Associates, Auburn, and teaches in the dental hygiene program at the University of New England. Their daughter, Kate, is finishing a master’s degree at Rochester Institute of Technology in a combined study of graphic design and secondary special education.

Pamela Baker earned a bachelor of science degree in biology at Bates and a like degree in zoology at the University of Wales at Swansea. She received her master’s degree and doctorate from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

A pediatrician and educator, Helen Papaioanou served as a Bates trustee from 1965 until 1999. A biology major at Bates, she received her medical degree from Boston University and a master’s of science from the University of Michigan.

She is credited with leading the modernization of the Bates health center in the 1970s, and in the 1990s she chaired the college’s $59 million fund-raising campaign and was the trustee leader of fund raising for construction of Pettengill Hall. Bates awarded Papaioanou an honorary doctor of science degree in 1997 and the Benjamin E. Mays Medal, the college’s highest alumni award, in 2003.