University of North Texas President Gretchen M. Bataille offered no clues Thursday morning as to the reason for her abrupt resignation that was announced Wednesday.

Gretchen M. Bataille

The UNT Board of Regents are expected to accept Bataille’s resignation during their quarterly meeting, which is being held today and Friday in Dallas. Bataille is also scheduled to make a presentation to the regents, proposing increases in tuition at the university. When approached at the meeting for comment as to why she is resigning mid-year, with only a few weeks’ notice, Bataille only shook her head, making it clear she did not want to discuss her reasons for leaving.

She received several pats on the shoulder from colleagues as the two-day meeting began.

Bataille’s resignation takes effect Feb. 28.

Bataille, 65, was the first female president in the university’s history.

The UNT Board of Regents will likely accept her resignation during the quarterly regents meeting today and Friday in Dallas.

During the afternoon luncheon, those attending the Board of Regents meeting expressed dismay and surprise over Bataille's resignation, No one is still sure of the exact reasons behind her decision to vacate the Denton campus presidency.

“For the university and me personally, it's a big loss,” said Rick Villareal, UNT's athletic director. “She's been such a great partner from academics to athletics. She's not just involved in locally, but nationally, with the NCAA. There will be a little bit of a hole left once she's gone.”

Villareal said he met with Bataille Wednesday afternoon to discuss her decision to resign. Although Bataille would not give him a reason for leaving, he said, she wanted to make sure her vision for the Denton campus moved forward without her.

"She came to help the university and there's no way we'll stop [those projects she's been working on]," Villareal said.

UNT Health Science Center President Scott Ransom said he wasn't sure why Bataille decided to resign.

"Dr. Bataille has done an outstanding job, from my perspective, and she will be sorely missed,” Ransom said. “She's made a lot of contributions to the Denton campus.”

Bataille said in a prepared statement that she had accepted the presidency to serve as a “transformational leader” and to provide a “clear direction for the university’s future.” She was unavailable for further comment Wednesday.

UNT Chancellor Lee Jackson declined to discuss the particulars of Bataille’s decision to resign, but said it had nothing to do with the recent announcement to move the UNT system office to downtown Dallas in November, a decision Bataille expressed concern about.

“Like every large organization [that] has issues, we’ve discussed them and we’ve mutually agreed to fulfill her contract and accept her resignation,” Jackson said. “I really don’t want to go into things that didn’t work, but focus at this point on her accomplishments and how far we’ve come in four years.”

Regents Chairman C. Dan Smith said the board would discuss and likely accept her resignation.

He would not say what reason she gave the board for her resignation. He referred to a statement he made in the university news release and said he would have more comment after the board meeting.

“Members of the UNT System Board of Regents and I thank President Bataille for her leadership and service to the university,” his statement said. “We respect the strong sense of purpose that she brought to her presidency and her work to build an even better university. As a board, we are committed to a smooth transition of leadership through a thorough and inclusive search for a new president — someone who can maintain our momentum and continue to build a promising future for UNT. We’re not going to let any grass grow under our feet during the presidential search process. The major projects that are underway will continue to move forward.”

Bataille’s resignation comes as a surprise, especially since she has been instrumental in leading UNT’s drive to achieve top-tier status as a national research university.

Over the last two years, Bataille teamed with the presidents of the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Texas at Dallas in supporting a bill to help all three campuses pursue “tier one” status. The bill became law last year, and many North Texas observers give much credit to the leadership at those campuses.

UT-Arlington President Jim Spaniolo said Wednesday: “She’s a dear colleague. I have great admiration and respect for her. She’s an outstanding leader. She helped set a new standard of cooperation on the tier-one issues among UNT, UT-Dallas and UT-Arlington.”

Bataille also has taken aggressive steps to raise UNT’s national profile by traveling to Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and other cities across the U.S. — and even to places like Thailand — to meet with alumni and other supporters.

During the transition process to a new university president, the momentum of several projects under way for the Denton campus will continue, Jackson said, citing the new football stadium, the Business Leadership Building, the Life Science Building, new development at Discovery Park, the Emerald Eagle Scholars program and new research initiatives.

“Our challenge is to put in place an interim leadership starting March 1 to reinsure that these important initiatives go forward with strong support of the UNT System and board,” Jackson said.

Regents will likely identify an experienced UNT leader on the Denton campus to serve as interim president, not someone from outside, from the system or another campus, Jackson said.

Bataille’s contract was scheduled to run through Aug. 31, 2011, he said.

Her last performance review, in May 2009, was strong.

“We want you to have a clear confirmation that I and members of the Board are very supportive of your leadership direction as President of UNT,” Jackson wrote to Bataille.

And in a memo to board trustees, he noted, “The results at UNT continue to demonstrate that Dr. Bataille is bringing an exceptional level of energy, change, and a new outlook to every part of UNT’s activities. ... UNT is clearly more visible in the region, state, nation, and world than it has ever been.”

In August, Bataille received a 2 percent raise, bringing her total yearly compensation package to $497,760.

In November, the UNT system moved its offices, including the chancellor and some key administrators, to downtown Dallas.

Some Denton leaders feared the move would be the start of a break in the university’s long-standing relationship with Denton.

Bataille’s office remained in Denton, and when questioned, she was vocal that UNT would not lose a presence in the city.

She was critical of the move, however. In a November Board of Regents meeting, Bataille expressed some concern that the move would cause the Denton campus to lose some technical support for its research initiatives.

She cautioned that the university “is very different than a Fortune 500 company.”

Staff writer Matt Zabel and Dallas Morning News staff writer Holly Hacker contributed to this report.

CANDACE CARLISLE can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address is ccarlisle@dentonrc.com