MIAMI, Fla. – North Carolina banker L. M. Baker Jr. has been elected to join the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation’s board of trustees beginning in January. He will serve on the foundation’s investment and audit committees.

Bud Baker, 61, retired as chairman of Wachovia Corp. in 2003. During his tenure he was the force behind the 2001 merger between Wachovia and First Union Financial Corp., creating what is today the nation’s fourth-largest bank. He joined Wachovia in 1969; became president, chief operating officer and a director of the corporation in February 1993; and became chairman in 2001.

“Bud Baker’s leadership in the banking industry and expertise in investments helps to ensure that Knight Foundation remains financially strong,” said W. Gerald Austen, M.D., Knight’s board chairman.

Baker is a board member of the National Humanities Center and the North Carolina Arboretum, and is a founder of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation.

Baker is a native of Lovettsville, Va. He graduated from the University of Richmond with a bachelor’s degree in English and then served in Vietnam as a captain in the Marine Corps. After leaving the Corps, he earned an MBA degree at the University of Virginia.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes excellence in journalism worldwide and invests in the vitality of 26 U.S. communities.