The Women’s Leadership lecture series will feature Gretchen M. Bataille in “Women and Leadership: Career Success and Satisfaction” on Wednesday.

Bataille is the senior vice president for programs and services at the American Council on Education in Washington, D.C. She has served as the president of the University of North Texas for four years. Before that, she was the chief academic officer of the 16-campus University of North Carolina system.

Other administrative positions she has occupied include associate dean for academic personnel at Arizona State University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and chairwoman of the university’s department of English. She also has served as provost of the College of Letters and Science at the University of California at Santa Barbara as well as provost and academic vice president at Washington State University.

Bataille earned her doctorate in English at Drake University, and her Master of Arts in English and Bachelor of Science in English and French at California Polytechnic State University. She has previously served on Iowa State’s English faculty.

According to the news service at the University of North Texas, Bataille made history by serving as “the first woman to preside at the 116-year-old institution that is the fourth largest university in the state — with more than 32,000 students.”

The lecture will begin at 7 p.m. in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union. It is free to attend.