ʹڲַ Presidents
Denise A. Battles (2014–Present)
Denise A. Battles was appointed president on July 1, 2015. Prior to her arrival in ʹڲַ, she served as the provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and before that as the dean of the College of Natural and Health Sciences at the University of Northern Colorado. She holds a baccalaureate degree in geology from Colgate University and a doctorate in geology from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Image
Christopher C. Dahl (1996–2014)
Christopher C. Dahl, who was serving as provost at ʹڲַ when Carol Harter resigned, began his presidency in the capacity of interim president. In relatively short order, he was made president and inaugurated the same year that the college celebrated its 125th anniversary. Dahl’s impressive academic credentials include an AB in English from Harvard College, and an MPhil and PhD (both in English) from Yale University. Dahl helped raise the level of excellence at ʹڲַ ever higher, presiding over such accomplishments as the establishment of a Phi Beta Kappa chapter on campus; Middle States re-accreditation; and national recognition in Kiplinger’s, U.S. News & World Report, Princeton Review, the New York Times, Forbes, Money Magazine, and elsewhere. Dahl retired at the end of the 2013–2014 academic year.
Image
Carol C. Harter (1989–1995)
Carol C. Harter earned a bachelor’s degree from Binghamton’s Harpur College as well as a PhD from SUNY Binghamton, and served as vice president at Ohio University prior to accepting the presidency at ʹڲַ. She was the college’s first female president. Upon her arrival at ʹڲַ, she was interviewed by the Lamron and asked whether she was a feminist. When she answered yes, she was then asked which she preferred to be called, “Ms.” or “Mrs.” and said that “Doctor” or “President” would do. Harter furthered the college’s reputation and stature by placing a high premium on academic excellence, in both students and faculty, and she made a conscious effort to increase diversity on campus. Before leaving to become president of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, she had helped take ʹڲַ’s fundraising efforts to a much higher level.
Image
Edward B. Jakubauskas (1979–1988)
Edward B. Jakubauskas came to ʹڲַ from the University of Wyoming, where he had been vice president of academic affairs. Holding a PhD in economics from the University of Wisconsin, he assumed ʹڲַ’s presidency in the midst of a sagging economy and budget cuts. He dealt with the challenges by improving academic quality, focusing on the college’s business programs and partnerships, and continuing the fundraising efforts begun by MacVittie. Through it all, ʹڲַ’s reputation grew and gained national attention. Jakubauskas left ʹڲַ in 1988 to become president of Central Michigan University.
Image
Robert W. MacVittie (1963–1979)
Robert W. MacVittie’s presidency was marked by unprecedented campus expansion, curricular growth and change, and “the College’s transition to a multipurpose school with many of the trappings of a liberal arts college” (Mahood et al.). It was also a time of campus unrest and protest, which presented not only challenges for the college but opportunities for improvement. Under MacVittie, the student body more than doubled (from 2262 to 5342), the faculty grew from 113 to 311, and both were more carefully selected. By the time MacVittie retired in August 1979, the college was well on its way to becoming the premier public liberal arts school it is today.
Image
Francis J. Moench (1954–1963)
Francis J. Moench graduated from Cortland Normal School in 1916 and soon afterward served in WWI. After the war, he continued his education and received a bachelor’s in physical education from Springfield College and both a master’s and doctorate from New York University. His professional experience was gained entirely at his alma mater, Cortland, where he served as faculty member, department chair, and dean before becoming president at ʹڲַ. Moench was at the helm when the campus entered its construction boom of the 1960s, presiding at the dedications of Wadsworth Auditorium, Milne (now Fraser) Library, three new residence halls, Mary Jemison Dining Hall, Schrader Health & Physical Education Building, and the transformer service building. By most measures, Moench’s presidency was a success.
Image
Kenneth H. Freeman (1952–1954)
Kenneth H. Freeman arrived on the ʹڲַ campus in September 1951 to become the college’s new dean, having most recently been head of the University of Nebraska’s Department of Elementary Education. A graduate of Northeastern Missouri State Teachers College, Freeman held a doctorate from the University of Missouri and boasted a solid and varied work history which included positions as elementary school principal and teacher, college dean and professor, and director of in-service teacher training at several colleges. After only three semesters as ʹڲַ’s dean, Freeman was tapped to serve as president upon Espy’s departure at the end of 1952. He served in that capacity for three semesters until Moench was brought in as ʹڲַ’s new president. Freeman then resumed his duties as dean and stayed at ʹڲַ through 1956, when he assumed the presidency of Christian College in Columbia, Missouri. Upon his departure, Freeman was lauded by Moench as having “done an unusual job in leadership of the faculty and students,” adding that the college had made considerable progress in that time, despite his relatively short tenure at ʹڲַ.
Image
Herbert G. Espy (1946–1952)
Herbert G. Espy was the college’s first president – i.e., the first head to be appointed since its days as a normal school. He was very well-educated, having earned an A.B. from Occidental College and an Ed.D. from Harvard. He had been an assistant professor at the University of Rochester, staff education officer under Gen. Douglas MacArthur, and chairman of the division of education at Western Reserve University before assuming the presidency at ʹڲַ. He faced many challenges during his tenure, including low enrollment and inadequate facilities, and met them with varying degrees of success. After serving for just six years, Espy resigned rather abruptly to take the job as Maine’s superintendent of education.
Image
James B. Welles (1934–1946)
James B. Welles, a 1905 graduate of ʹڲַ’s College Preparatory course, was the son of ʹڲַ professor of Latin and Greek Frank E. Welles (who was also one of the school’s 10 original graduates). He earned an A.B. from Union College, a master’s from Columbia University’s Teachers College, and a doctorate from Columbia. Prior to becoming ʹڲַ’s fifth principal, Welles held positions as Latin teacher and administrator at various schools throughout New York State. He retired in 1946, having helped the school weather the lean, difficult years of the Depression and World War II and having helped bring about ʹڲַ’s transformation into a teachers college.
Image
Winfield A. Holcomb (1922–1934)
Winfield A. Holcomb began his tenure at ʹڲַ in the capacity of acting principal, the school’s first choice to replace Sturges having been unexpectedly and at the last minute rejected by the Board of Regents. Holcomb, a graduate of Fredonia, was rather quickly appointed permanently as ʹڲַ’s fourth principal. He was well-qualified: his most recent position had been as chief of the Bureau of Teacher Certification, and he had also served as school commissioner in Chautauqua County, as general inspector of high schools, and as special inspector of teacher training schools. Holcomb retired in April 1934, less than a year after the dedication of the Winfield A. Holcomb School of Practice (now Welles Hall).
Image
James V. Sturges (1905–1922)
James V. Sturges, the first principal with a background in the liberal arts, had been principal at public schools in New York and New Jersey and had been head of the mathematics department at the Pratt Institute prior to his arrival in ʹڲַ. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees from Colgate University. Citing ill health, Sturges took a leave of absence for the entire 1921–22 school year. In July 1922, the board voted that Sturges tender his resignation, for reasons that are not entirely clear.
Image
John M. Milne (1889–1905)
John M. Milne was hired in 1872 as teacher of Greek and Latin at ʹڲַ, succeeded his older brother, William, as principal. He had briefly served as interim principal in 1887 when William took a health-related leave of absence, and had also served as mayor of the Village of ʹڲַ. The younger Milne took a leave of absence himself in June 1903 “for his restoration of health” (appointing science professor Hubert J. Schmitz as acting principal), but died of tuberculosis in early January 1905.
Image
William J. Milne (1871–1889)
William J. Milne, the Normal School’s first principal (and youngest ever, at 28 years old), was hired just one month before the school’s opening at a salary of $2500 per year. Prior to coming to ʹڲַ, he had been a professor of ancient languages at the Brockport State Normal School. “Dock Milne,” as he was often called, earned both his master’s and doctorate degrees at the University of Rochester. He somehow managed to pull off a commencement at the end of the school’s first academic year, perhaps recruiting some students from Brockport to finish their coursework at ʹڲַ. When he went on to Albany to head the normal school there, he left ʹڲַ in the hands of his brother, John.
Image
