Dr. Marietta Baba is a respected scholar and administrator who served as the Dean of the College of Social Science at Michigan State University (MSU) from 2001 to 2015. After graduating from Grand Blanc High School (GBHS) in 1967, Marietta went to Wayne State University where she earned a B.A. and M.A. in Anthropology, followed by a PhD in Physical Anthropology.

An anthropologist by training, Dr. Baba is widely recognized as a “founding mother” of business anthropology. Before her tenure at MSU, she was a professor and chair at Wayne State University, where she established the nation’s first business anthropology education program. Her extensive research focuses on the anthropology of work, organizational culture, and technological innovation, resulting in over 100 scholarly publications. 

Currently, Dr. Baba serves as the Executive Director and President of the Foundation for Women and Children Enslaved in War (WCEW). In this role, she leads efforts to support survivors of human trafficking from conflict zones, a mission inspired by her own family’s history as war refugees from Persia during World War I.