John McKiernan

Attracted to Wilmington College’s mission-driven and holistic approach to educating and forming students in the liberal arts tradition, which mirrored his own undergraduate experience, John (a Cincinnati native and proud Elder High School graduate) joined Wilmington College in the fall of 2022.

As Chief of Staff, John supports President Trevor Bates’ strategic leadership of the College by collaborating with faculty and staff colleagues on campus-wide initiatives, directing the work of the President’s Cabinet, and stewarding the College’s Board of Trustees.

John brings two decades of higher education administration experience to the role, having begun his career in live-in residence life positions at both the University of Notre Dame and Seattle University. Additionally, John brings expertise in academic affairs, accreditation, strategic planning, and institutional governance, previously serving as director of academic programming at Yale Law School, as a peer evaluator for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, and most recently as assistant vice president, co-chair of the self-study steering committee, and assistant secretary to the board of trustees at Loyola University Maryland.