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
