Professor emeritus James W. McKenney began his career as an elementary and middle school teacher and coach in Oregon, his home state. A graduate of Willamette who went on to receive master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Oregan, he and his family moved to Kansas in 1967 when he joined the political science faculty at Wichita State.
Before retiring in 2007, he served in several leadership roles, including as political science department chair and as director of the Emory Lindquist Honors Program. In 1988-89, he taught at the Air War College, and in 1991, McKenney, then an associate professor at WSU, was awarded the Joseph J. Malone Faculty Fellowship to participate in an Arab and Islamic studies program sponsored by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. The program’s purpose was deepening American understanding of the Arab world. After his return from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, he spoke about his experiences to students in his Games Nations Play class.
As an expert on Persian Gulf War-related issues, he was interviewed by national media, Newsday, Christian Science Monitor, USA Today, among others. Another of his areas of expertise was Latin America and the Panama Canal.
In 2001, his colleague Mel Kahn wrote, “Jim is that rare individual who excels in all major service roles: faculty member, administrator and public resource. His record demonstrates that he has brought distinctive recognition to WSU.”
James McKenney died Oct. 25, 2012, in Valley Center, Kan.
