QU's 24th President

by Matthew Bergman ’99 and Jen Wingerter ’13

Dr. Brian McGee Appointed as QU’s 24th President

I am eager to join this wonderful community in Quincy. The story of Quincy University inspires me, as that story has been written by generations of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and Church and community leaders.”

Education

With the support of a debate scholarship, McGee earned his bachelor’s degree in speech communication from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. McGee also earned his master’s degree in speech communication from Southern Illinois. He received his doctorate in communication from The Ohio State University.

My inheritance as QU president will be the impressive accomplishments of Phil Conover and our past presidents, including the Franciscan Friars who founded and led this great institution."

Work Experience

McGee is currently serving as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, where he has been for nearly fifteen years. Before becoming provost, McGee worked as Charleston’s chief of staff and senior vice president of executive administration and as a tenured professor and chair of Charleston’s department of communication, one of its largest academic units. Prior to joining the College of Charleston, McGee was the chair of the School of Communication at Spalding University. He also worked at Texas Tech University and Northeast Louisiana University.

The board of trustees is confident that Dr. McGee is the best choice to continue the outstanding work of President Conover in moving the University towards long-term sustainability.”

–Del Mitchell, Chair of the Quincy University Board of Trustees

Personal

McGee’s grandfathers didn’t finish high school, and his parents were the first members of their families to earn university degrees. McGee’s parents, Carolyn and Jim, grew up in Galesburg, Illinois, and many members of McGee’s extended family live near Galesburg or Peoria.

McGee’s family includes his children, Brandon and Emily, both juniors at the College of Charleston, and Maybelle, who attends Nativity Catholic School in Charleston.

This process has been a labor of love for myself and the committee. In the end, we truly were able to select the best fit for Quincy University and the Quincy region,”

–Mike McClain QU trustee and chair of the search committee

A parishioner at the Church of the Nativity in the Catholic Diocese of Charleston, McGee cantors and sings with the church choir. He has also sung with an a cappella chorus.

McGee plays golf and has become an avid runner in recent years, logging over twenty miles a week.

I’m delighted to return to Western Illinois, where members of my family have lived for generations. Quincy is a beautiful, charming river city. It is everything a college town should be. The relationship between Quincy and QU is part of what makes QU so special. ”

Brian McGee, PhD