Michael McKay
Photo by Ruth Stevens for the Office of Communications
Vice President for Facilities Michael McKay has announced plans to retire at the end of the calendar year, concluding a nearly 40-year career at Princeton University.
McKay has served in his current role since 2003 and has worked at the University since 1977.
As vice president for Facilities, McKay oversees the departments involved with the planning, operation and maintenance of the University's physical space. This includes: Building Services; Grounds and Building Maintenance; Engineering and Campus Energy; Facilities Finance and Administrative Services; Facilities Operations and Maintenance; the Office of Design and Construction; the Office of Real Estate Development; the Office of Sustainability; and the Office of the University Architect.
"Mike McKay has been a superb leader for Princeton's Facilities organization and a devoted steward of this University's campus," President Christopher L. Eisgruber said. "Generations of Princetonians will benefit from the care, expertise and hard work that he and his dedicated team have invested in our buildings and grounds. I am grateful for his exceptional service to Princeton."
Executive Vice President Treby Williams, to whom McKay reports, observed that during McKay's tenure as vice president for Facilities, the University has engaged in the most comprehensive campus planning processes in its history.
"The University built 1.5 million square feet, from the Frick Chemistry Laboratory and Whitman and Butler college projects, to the newly opened Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment," Williams said. "Princeton has served as an international model for our energy-saving co-generation facility and practices, and created and made extraordinary progress on the institution's first Sustainability Plan. All the while, Mike has carefully stewarded our grounds and buildings. His leadership and deep knowledge were critical to these and countless other accomplishments that have enhanced the research, teaching and campus experience for the University community."
McKay started at the University as assistant director of engineering in Facilities and later was promoted to director of engineering. He then served for 10 years as general manager of plant and services, where he was responsible for several departments within Facilities.
McKay said there were countless interesting projects and developments during his career at Princeton.
"If I was going to single out one thing that marks my time at Princeton, it is the pleasure of working with everyone in Facilities," he said. "The dedication, hard work and fellowship of the staff make Facilities a special place."
Before coming to Princeton, McKay was a senior physicist with Westinghouse and served as an officer in the Army Corps of Engineers. He is a member of the Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers, and has served as president of the International District Energy Association and on the boards of the New Jersey Independent Energy Producers and the American Coalition of Competitive Energy Suppliers. He also was a member of a Congressional Blue Ribbon Panel that evaluated energy options for the U.S. Capitol.
McKay earned a bachelor of science in engineering degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and a master's degree in management from Boston University.
Williams will lead a national search for a new vice president for Facilities to succeed McKay.
