Gretchen M. Bataille was appointed senior vice president for Leadership and Lifelong Learning in July 2011. ACE’s leadership programs include the Institute for New Presidents, the Fellows Program, Advancing to the Presidency, Presidential Roundtables and multiple national and regional programs to increase the diversity of higher education leadership. The Center for Lifelong Learning includes the CREDIT program, military evaluations, pre-college programs and veterans’ programs. Included in Bataille’s responsibilities are multiple grants, including a $3 million MetLife grant to work with GED students in the New York City public schools.
Beginning in 2006, Bataille served for four years as president of the University of North Texas. She was senior vice president of the University of North Carolina system from 2000–06, and during that time served for a year as interim chancellor at North Carolina School of the Arts. She also served as an administrator at Arizona State University, University of California-Santa Barbara and Washington State University.
Bataille has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of The College Board as well as an ACE Board member. Currently, she is a member of the Board of Directors for SAGE Publications. Her publications include the book, Faculty Career Paths: Multiple Routes to Academic Success and Satisfaction (Praeger, 2006).
Bataille, whose scholarly specialization is American Indian literature, received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at California Polytechnic State University and her doctorate in English at Drake University.