Press Release - New President of Coppin State College Named

October 11, 2002

USM Board of Regents Names New President of Coppin State College

 

Stanley F. Battle, vice chancellor for student and multicultural affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), has been named president of Coppin State College, the University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents announced today. Battle will succeed Calvin Burnett, who has served as Coppin's president for 32 years. Battle will begin his new position on March 3, 2003.

 

Nathan A. Chapman Jr., chairman of the Board of Regents, said, "Stanley Battle was the frontrunner in a remarkably talented slate of candidates to lead Coppin State in its second century. He has a vision for positioning Coppin as a leader among the nation's urban historically black institutions. The Board enthusiastically supports and welcomes him in this endeavor. We also want to thank the members of the presidential search committee, particularly the committee chair, Dr. Genevieve Knight, for identifying such an outstanding individual."

 

USM Chancellor William E. Kirwan described Battle as "passionately committed to the mission of urban education," and said he expects that Coppin will benefit greatly from his stewardship.

 

"He brings to Coppin an outstanding international reputation as a scholar, teacher, and administrator," Kirwan said. "Under his distinguished leadership, I am confident that Coppin will reach new heights of academic excellence and community service. Quite simply, he is the ideal choice."

 

Battle has served as vice chancellor of student and multicultural affairs at UWM since 2000. In that role, he sets policy and addresses the needs of the university's 23,000 students. He manages a staff of more than 500 administrative professionals and a $230 million budget, and represents the Division of Student and Multicultural Affairs at state, regional and national levels. In his current capacity, he also chairs the Milwaukee Commitment, a major initiative to increase UWM's appreciation of diversity, and has overseen the completion of several significant development projects on the campus. He led efforts to complete a major residential building at UMW, as well as other facilities.

 

Prior to that, Battle held the Sullivan-Spaights Distinguished Professorship at UWM's Schools of Social Welfare and Education from 1998 to 2001. He established five Sullivan-Spaights Scholarships; the Sullivan-Spaights Summer Institute for attracting national scholars to UWM for research into issues pertaining to adolescent fathers; the Sullivan-Spaights Policy Institute; and the Mentoring Institute, a leadership training ground for adolescent African-American men. Battle worked directly with international civil rights leader Rev. Leon H. Sullivan and the Opportunities Industrialization Center of Greater Milwaukee, the largest OIC operation in the world.

 

Of his appointment to Coppin, Battle said, "It is a tremendous opportunity and a great mission in an urban community with a wonderful population. I will certainly enjoy working with the students, faculty, staff and community."

 

Battle previously served as associate vice president for academic affairs at Eastern Connecticut State University from 1993 to 1998, where his legacy includes the completion of the J. Eugene Library, named by the New York Times as one of the best libraries on the East coast. He was associate dean for research and development at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work for three years prior to that. His other academic appointments include professor in the latter school from 1987 to 1993; associate professor in the Boston University School of Social Work from 1984 to 1987; senior researcher in pediatrics in the Boston University School of Medicine, 1984-89; and assistant professor in the University of Minnesota School of Social Work, 1980-84.

Battle, 51, received his doctorate in social welfare policy in 1980 from the University of Pittsburgh. He earned a master's degree in public health from the same institution in 1979, and a master's in social work in 1975 from the University of Connecticut. He earned his bachelor's degree from Springfield College in 1973.

Battle has authored or co-authored 10 books and more than 60 articles and book chapters for academic and other publications, mostly focusing on social issues involving the African-American community. He has also been involved in curriculum development, and served as a consultant in a variety of training development programs.

 

Among his numerous awards and honors are the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award from Eastern Connecticut State University, the First Community Research Award from the Institute for Community Research in Hartford, CT, and the Connecticut State Department of Children and Families Recognition Award. This December, he will receive the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Epsilon Kappa Omega Chapter Trailblazer Award.

The Dr. Stanley F. Battle and Judith L. Rozie-Battle Scholarship Fund was endowed at Eastern Connecticut State.

Coppin State College has a long and storied history: In 1900, at Douglass High School on Pennsylvania Avenue, the Baltimore City School Board started a training course for the preparation of African-American elementary school teachers. Seven years later it was separated from the high school and given its own principal. In 1926 this facility for teacher training was named the Fanny Jackson Coppin Normal School in honor of a leading African American pioneer in teacher education. Four years later, it evolved into Coppin Teachers College, with the authority to grant a college-level degree in science. In 1950, Coppin became part of the higher education system of Maryland and was renamed Coppin State Teachers College. Two years after that the College moved to its present 38-acre site on West North Avenue in Baltimore. Coppin was given its current name in 1963, as an acknowledgement that is goals and mission had expanded beyond teacher education. In 1967, its first Bachelor of Arts degree was conferred. In 1988, the College became part of what is now known as the University System of Maryland. Coppin State College features a comprehensive academic program, with offerings through its Division of Arts and Sciences, Division of Education, Division of Nursing, Division of Graduate Studies, and Division of Honors.

 Battle was born in Springfield, MA, to Henry and Rachel Battle, who have been married for 60 years. His identical twin brother, Stewart, is a lawyer in Connecticut and his other brother, Stefan, works in education in Massachusetts. He lost his only sister to breast cancer.

Battle has been married for 27 years to Judy Rozie-Battle, an assistant professor in the UW-Milwaukee Helen Bader School of Social Welfare. Her teaching responsibilities are in the areas of law and social work, child welfare, and cultural diversity. She earned her doctor of jurisprudence from the University of Minnesota in 1982 and her master of social welfare from the University of Connecticut in 1975.

Their daughter, Ashley, 18, is a recent honor student graduate of Shorewood High School in Wisconsin and a first-year student at Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA.

 The Battles have yet to decide in which of Baltimore's neighborhoods to live.

Contact:

Chris Hart
Phone: 301/445-2739
E-mail: chart@usmd.edu