In 2006, Dr.
Gretchen M. Bataille became the 14th president of
the University of North Texas and the first woman in
the university's 116-year history to hold the
position of chief executive officer. Bataille
succeeded Dr. Norval Pohl, who served as university
President since 2000.
Since 2000, Bataille served as the chief academic
officer of the 16-campus University of North
Carolina system. In her last year, she had an
additional assignment as interim chancellor of the
North Carolina School of the Arts, the public
performing arts conservatory of UNC. Bataille also
served as a tenured professor of English at UNC-Chapel
Hill.
As the UNC system's senior vice president for
academic affairs, Bataille led the academic planning
for all of the UNC system campuses, comprising a
total enrollment of about 196,000 students. The UNC
system is composed of the state's 16 public
universities granting baccalaureate and advanced
degrees, including two medical schools and schools
of dentistry, pharmacy, public health and veterinary
medicine. The scope of her responsibilities as the
system's highest ranking academic officer included
oversight of strategic planning and budgeting,
research, student affairs, international programs
and advising the UNC president and board of
governors on academic issues.
As interim chancellor of NCSA, Bataille headed an
institution serving more than 1,100 junior-high to
graduate students training for professional careers
in the arts in five professional schools - dance,
design and production (visual arts), drama, film and
music. NCSA was the first state-supported,
residential school of its kind in the nation.
Bataille has served as an administrator at
Washington State University, the University of
California at Santa Barbara, Arizona State
University, and California State Polytechnic
University at Pomona.
A recognized scholar of Native American literature,
Bataille's professional career has focused on issues
of diversity, civil rights and ethnic studies. She
began her teaching career as a member of the English
faculty at Iowa State University and her
publications include books on Native American
literature and film as well as the role of
administrators in higher education.
Originally from Indiana, Bataille earned her
bachelor's degree in English and a master's degree
in English education from California Polytechnic
State University at San Luis Obispo. She earned a
doctorate in English from Drake University and has
completed management development programs at Harvard
University and the University of California.
Bataille is a widow and the mother of two grown
children - Erin Hettinga Crail and Marc Hettinga.
