Michael McKenna joined the Middlebury staff in the fall of 2005 as vice president for communications. Formerly CEO, president and chief creative officer at Marsteller, a global advertising, design, interactive and production agency based in New York City, McKenna began his career in higher education, working in admissions at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., and then as assistant director of alumni relations and development at his alma mater, Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. After a brief stint as a reporter for United Press International, Mike began a career in corporate communications that included stops at The Gillette Co. and BBDO in Boston, and then Young & Rubicam, Citigate and Marsteller, all in New York.
Mike is a 1973 graduate of Wesleyan, where he majored in English, was a varsity athlete, and served as an editor of the student newspaper. He went on to earn a master's degree in journalism from Boston University in 1978. He recently wrapped up three years as a trustee at Wesleyan, serving as vice chair of the university relations subcommittee and a member of the facilities planning subcommittee.
Mike and his wife, Lynn, a graphic designer, now live in Weybridge, Vt. They have two children: daughter Lee, a senior at Taft School in Connecticut, has been admitted to Middlebury, where she'll begin her studies in February 2007; and son Jake, a recent graduate of Harvard College, currently works and lives in San Francisco.