DENTON (UNT), Texas--After a national search, Dr. Teresa R. McKinney has been named the assistant vice president for student affairs at the University of North Texas, where she will oversee Recreational Sports, the Student Health and Wellness Center, and Counseling and Testing Services.
“She is a wonderful fit based upon her desire to continue to increase student success and her strong experience in higher education,” said Dr. Elizabeth With, vice president for student affairs. “She brings a great deal of enthusiasm to this position, and we are thrilled to have her join our community at UNT.”
McKinney, who previously served as dean of students at Chicago State University, will begin her position at UNT on Feb. 1 (Friday).
“I am humbled by the opportunity to serve as the assistant vice president of student affairs responsible for health and wellness,” she said. “In this capacity, I look forward to years of listening to, being inspired by, serving and collaborating with the UNT community to continue the legacy of learning, scholarship and student engagement that has made UNT an inspiration to not only the North Texas region, but to the world.”
As dean of students at Chicago State University since August 2011, McKinney provided leadership for a division of 10 departments. She also implemented the first Student Leadership Academy at the university and increased multicultural programming and student-oriented civic engagement activities.
At City Colleges of Chicago, she served as associate dean of students from August 2009 until November 2010 and assistant dean of students from September 2007 to August 2009. McKinney also has served as an academic advisor at Lorain County Community College in Elyria, Ohio; assistant director of admissions and advising on the satellite campus of Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio; and assistant registrar at Walsh University in Ohio. She began her career as a police officer with the Lansing Police Department in Lansing, Mich.
She has presented, written and consulted on a range of student affairs issues, including enrollment management, emergency preparedness and creating cultures of evidence for improved institutional effectiveness. Most recently, her research focused on how higher education institutions could successfully measure institutional effectiveness and use these results to create systems to promote continuous quality improvement.
McKinney earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Eastern Michigan University, a master’s degree in educational leadership from Michigan State University and a doctoral degree in educational leadership from National Louis University.