Slated Position: VP for Leadership and Management Development Candidate
Position Statement
It’s an honor to be nominated for the Vice President for Leadership and Management Development position on the AACRAO Board of Directors. AACRAO has played such an important part in my career. I feel fortunate that I have the potential through this opportunity to give back to the profession in such a significant and meaningful way.
My involvement with AACRAO has been considerable and long-standing and demonstrates my commitment to the organization and the membership. Since my first Annual Meeting in 2006, I have attended regularly and presented sessions or facilitated pre-conference workshops. I started and continue to host the registrar-focused podcast, For the Record, to address topics that are timely and informative for the membership. I have served on the Program Committee (2019-2023); I have been the Registrar 101 and FERPA Workshop coordinator (2020 to present); I served on the Closed and Merged Institutions Working Group (2024-2025); as the Chair of the Institutional Data PAC (2017-2019); as a member of the Nominations and Elections Committee (2016-2017); and I chaired the Academic Progress and Graduation PAC (2008-2010). I have also published an article in the College & University journal (2007).
I am passionate about developing leaders at all levels of an organization and I recognize the need for strong leadership and management development across higher education. I have presented on leadership and management topics several times in the past, both from a philosophical perspective (“The Obstacle is the (Registrar’s) Way” and “Ego is the Registrar’s Enemy”) and from more practical approaches (“Prioritize! If Everything is Urgent, Nothing is Urgent” and “Make Meetings Meaningful”). Leadership and management are regular topics for discussion on For the Record, as well, as I see a lot of benefit for people to hear different perspectives and to reflect on their own approaches to the way they engage with their teams.
My involvement with the Registrar 101 and FERPA Workshop has also given me insight into how early career registrars (but higher education professionals more broadly) are hungry for information, knowledge, experience, and resources they can use to become better at what they do. Presenting the broad strokes of registrar work and reinforcing the leadership role registrars play is important work for me. I have found the experience of meeting and getting to know AACRAO members through the workshop energizing.
As the Vice President, it would be my goal to expand mentoring and coaching opportunities within AACRAO and throughout the state and regional associations. Connecting experienced professionals with early-career individuals and facilitating meaningful interactions would be an initiative I would pursue, building on the good work that has already been done by the mentoring working groups.
The state and regional associations represent an enormous opportunity for growth within the overall AACRAO community. Many of our members are not able to attend the Annual Meeting because of budgets or institutional decisions or policies. Those same members may be able to be involved with the state and regional, though. Working with the leadership of those organizations on outreach to their members, especially early-career individuals, would also be an area of focus. Helping early-career higher education professional understand pathways for progression and making them aware of the resources AACRAO and the state and regionals can offer is a high priority.
As a member-supported and member-focused organization, AACRAO relies on knowledgeable, experienced, and enthusiastic individuals to further the association’s mission. I am committed to the mission of higher education, and I believe I am well suited to serve the membership of AACRAO in this role as Vice President for Leadership and Management Development.
registrarpodcast@gmail.com
McKenna, host of For the Record, has spent
his entire higher education career working in the Registrar’s Offices of exemplary institutions.
McKenna has experience in a wide variety of university life, having served on standing committees relating to curriculum review and
approval, diversity and inclusion, innovation, and student success and retention. As an AACRAO member, he has served on multiple committees and presented several conference sessions.
McKenna grew up as the child of an active duty
Army officer, and his family moved every two to three years. This afforded him the opportunity to travel the world, living in as disparate locations as Heidelberg, Germany and Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas.
McKenna has finished three marathons,
multiple half marathons, and a number of 5- and 10K’s. He is a multi-instrumentalist and a featured soloist on one of the University of Notre Dame Folk Choir’s recordings.
McKenna lives in North Springfield, VA with his wife and
two children.
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