(Posted November 4, 2002)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Craig Baxter, professor emeritus of politics at Juniata College and a former foreign service officer who served in India and Pakistan, received the 2002 Distinguished Asianist Award from the Mid-Atlantic Region Association for Asian Studies, at the group's annual meeting, held Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Community College of Baltimore County-Essex.

The Distinguished Asianist Award is presented to a retired scholar of Asia in recognition of a lifetime contribution to the study of Asia.

Baxter, a Huntingdon resident, has published 11 books on the history and politics of Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, including the standard textbook on South Asian politics. Among his overseas Foreign Service posts were Bombay and New Delhi, India; Lahore, Pakistan; Accra, Ghana; and Dhaka, Bangladesh. In the United States, he was senior political officer for Pakistan and Afghanistan, and officer in charge of international scientific relations with the Near East, South Asia, and Africa.

Baxter came to Juniata in 1981 as visiting professor of political science and diplomat-in-residence, and joined the permanent faculty as professor of politics and history in 1982. His books include "Government and Politics in South Asia," a popular textbook that still is used today, "Bangladesh: A New Nation in an Old Setting" and "Pakistan Under the Military: 11 Years of Zia-ul-Haq."

Baxter also served in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics in 1951, a master's degree in political science in 1954 and a doctorate in history in 1967, all from the University of Pennsylvania. He served as chair of Juniata's political science department from 1991 to 1994.

He is a member of the American Foreign Service Association, the Association for Asian Studies and the Middle East Institute.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.