![\"Headshot](\"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Mitchell-McKinney-STORY.jpg\")
Dr. Mitchell S. McKinney has been named UToledo\u2019s next provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.<\/p><\/div>\n
An academic leader in political communication, McKinney is recognized as an authority on presidential debates. He previously served 21 years at the University of Missouri as a professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Communication and School of Journalism and held several academic leadership positions, including director of graduate studies and chair of the Department of Communication. His appointment as faculty fellow for academic affairs in the Office of the Provost at Missouri, initially a one-year term, evolved into a three-year appointment where he served in the role of acting deputy provost during a period of significant administrative transition.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith exceptional faculty and staff, outstanding students and devoted alumni, UToledo has established itself as a forward-thinking university well positioned to confront the many challenges facing higher education,\u201d McKinney said. \u201cThose of us involved in the enterprise of higher education are privileged to spend our lives as part of a community where learning and the creation and sharing of knowledge for the betterment of society is our work. I am excited for the opportunity to serve as the chief academic officer of a truly great university like The University of Toledo, one of our state and nation\u2019s premier R1 public research universities committed to student success and public impact.\u201d<\/p>\n
While at the University of Akron, McKinney improved student enrollment and retention, grew faculty research, fostered greater community involvement and increased alumni engagement and philanthropic support.<\/p>\n
The creation of several new in-demand degree programs, certificates and micro-credentials contributed to new student enrollment growth of approximately 12% in three years, achieving the first increases in the college\u2019s new student enrollment in over a decade. McKinney also created an all-encompassing Office of Advising and Student Success with streamlined academic advising, enhanced student financial support and career services, and expanded community-based experiential learning opportunities that led to an increased first-to-second-year student retention from 68% to nearly 80% in three years.<\/p>\n
As dean, McKinney increased annual fundraising each year, more than doubling the annual gifts received over the past four years. He also developed faculty research and scholarship by creating innovation funds to support faculty research start-ups, grew federal and industry grants and established interdisciplinary research centers and institutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe University conducted a national search for its next provost and developed an outstanding pool of candidates, from which Dr. McKinney clearly rose to the top,\u201d said Dr. James Holloway, who was recently named UToledo\u2019s 19th president, effective July 15. \u201cWhen I interviewed with him, I was struck by his thoughtful successes in growing enrollment, enhancing the student experience, developing programs strategically, supporting faculty research and engaging alumni. I was equally struck by his optimism and by the positive spirit he brings to his work. I look forward to partnering with Mitchell as we continue UToledo\u2019s mission of learning, discovery and patient care, all in service to our city and region.\u201d<\/p>\n
Interim President Matt Schroeder expressed the University\u2019s appreciation for Dr. Scott Molitor, who has served in the provost role on an interim basis since September 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to take this opportunity to thank Scott for all his efforts to advance UToledo during a period of great change in the higher education landscape,\u201d Schroeder said.<\/p>\n
McKinney is the author or co-author of 10 books and more than 100 journal articles and book chapters. He has been awarded approximately $1.2 million in support of his research and public engagement activities, with funding from the Knight Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, the Ford Foundation and the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation.<\/p>\n
McKinney has served as an advisor to the U.S. Commission on Presidential Debates and on national election commissions in several countries, including South Korea, Germany, Great Britain, New Zealand and Ghana, assisting these nations in developing and implementing their own televised presidential and party leader debates.<\/p>\n
In addition to his scholarly work, McKinney has practical political experience, having served as a staff member in the U.S. Senate and at the White House. He also served as associate director of the National Communication Association in Washington, D.C., and as president of the Central States Communication Association. He remains a frequent commentator for national and international news media, providing expert political commentary.<\/p>\n
McKinney completed his Ph.D. in communication studies from the University of Kansas. He has a master\u2019s degree in communication studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and bachelor\u2019s degrees in speech communication and government from Western Kentucky University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dr. Mitchell S. McKinney will join UToledo on July 14 from the University of Akron, where he has served since 2021 as dean of the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":284,"featured_media":93013,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,1,7],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93012"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/284"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93012"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93017,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93012\/revisions\/93017"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Headshot](\"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Mitchell-McKinney-Headshot-SIDE-150x150.jpg\")
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