President Denise A. Battles and Dr. Michael Mills (SUNY Geneseo photo/Keith Walters '11)
SUNY Geneseo President Denise A. Battles and her spouse, Michael Mills, director of national fellowships and scholarships, have created a $32,000 endowment to support student research.
“The Dr. Denise Battles and Dr. Michael Mills Endowment for Student Research will provide annual awards for undergraduate research and creative scholarly activity,” said John Gleason ’87, board chair of The Geneseo Foundation, Inc. “This gift affirms their strong commitment to intellectual inquiry and scholarly achievement for students at the College, and I thank them for their generosity on behalf of the board.”
The endowment will help defray student costs associated with research activity, including expenses related to presentations or publication. A faculty mentor or other professional will supervise students’ research or scholarly work, and the Geneseo Research Council will award the grants at the discretion of the Office of the Provost.
“Our faculty members value working with students who have a passion for research,“ said Stacey Robertson, Geneseo provost and vice president for academic affairs. “Undergraduate research helps students experience the joy of discovery and creation, explore career directions, present work in public forums, and strengthen graduate applications. I applaud Denise and Michael for their generous support of the student research experience at Geneseo.”
President Battles and Dr. Mills are each in their fifth year at SUNY Geneseo.
“We have always been impressed by the academic focus that students bring to the Geneseo campus, and we hope this endowment will make possible research opportunities for students who might otherwise have no access to such an experience,” said President Battles.