Denison University announces that Kathleen Browne has been selected to serve as the college’s chief investment officer. Browne currently serves as managing director of the endowment at Wellesley College. In her role as chief investment officer, Browne will provide leadership for Denison’s endowment, which provides the college means to impart an excellent liberal arts education as well as substantial aid for students with financial need.

Denison President Adam Weinberg said “Kathleen brings the perfect set of experiences, expertise and commitments. She will be a fantastic CIO and a great addition to the Denison community.”

“We are delighted that Kathleen will be joining us as chief investment officer,” said Bill Mulligan, a member of the Denison Board of Trustees, the Class of 1976, and Managing Partner of Primus Capital Partners. “She has the talent and skills to manage our endowment, now approaching $800 million. This is vitally important to us, as these resources allow us to make Denison’s truly exceptional education available to students of all financial backgrounds. This year, Denison was able to meet 100 percent of our students’ demonstrated financial need — something very few colleges can do.

“Kathleen’s experience is essential to bring elements of Denison’s strategic plan to fruition,” said Jim Glerum, a member of the Denison Board of Trustees, the Class of 1982, and Chairman of Regional Banking for North America at Citi. “Financial resources are a critical pillar of support for our goals of establishing the gold standard for college career centers, sustaining our faculty in their work of teaching and mentoring, and expanding and globalizing the curriculum.”

“I am excited for this opportunity to lead Denison’s investment office,” said Browne. “I am happy to join in the excellent work that Denison is doing in educating its students and the thought-leadership it is providing in many areas of the liberal arts. This will be challenging and energizing work with a group of stellar colleagues.”

Prior to joining Wellesley in 2009, Browne served as the director of alternative assets for the Alcatel-Lucent Inc. corporate pension plan. She previously worked as a private equity attorney at the Boston office of Goodwin Procter LLP and before that as a systems engineer with The MITRE Corporation, a not-for-profit federally funded research and development center in Bedford, Mass. She sits on the investment committees for The Foundation for MetroWest and The Boston Arts Academy.

Browne received a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Union College, a Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School, and a Masters of Business Administration from the MIT Sloan School of Management.