Denise A. Battles was named the next president of the State University of New York at Geneseo. The university, located near the city of Rochester, enrolls about 5,600 students. Women make up 58 percent of the undergraduate student body, according to the latest U.S. Department of Education data.
Since 2012, Dr. Battles has served as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. Previously, she was the founding dean of the College of Natural and Health Sciences at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. Dr. Battles began her academic career at Georgia Southern University in 1990, as an assistant professor of geology.
Dr. Battles holds a bachelor’s degree in geology from Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, and a Ph.D. in geology from the University of California, Los Angeles.