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Credit: Nick Romanenko
Information Technology Vice President
Michael McKay wearing the same Army
uniform he wore in 1985 when he started
at Rutgers as a professor of military
science. McKay served in Egypt, Israel,
Vietnam and Thailand.
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Working in Cairo as a United Nations military observer, Michael McKay found he had more in common with his Soviet counterpart than he thought.
It was 1979 and both men were in the region where Egyptian and Israeli leaders were brokering a historic, but ultimately doomed, peace treaty. “It was a time of great hope,” McKay says. He worked with people from France, Belgium, Australia and the U.S.S.R., and realized that his Polish mother’s heritage gave him something to talk about with the Europeans.
“A lot of the foods and some of the habits were familiar to me. You learn very quickly that two individuals coming from completely different political situations have a job to do,” says McKay, vice president of information technology at Rutgers. “You have to put that behind you and develop close relationships. Because lives depend on how the other person does their job.”
That philosophy guided McKay through his 22-year career in the U.S. Army, and it informs his management style at Rutgers. Although his employees – whose duties include computing services, information protection and security, telecommunications and instructional technology, among other areas – do not handle life and death matters, McKay says it is his job to provide security and a working environment that makes staff members want to come to work.
“The same basic values are transferable. People appreciate being respected for their abilities. They respect being given autonomy and not having someone looking over their shoulder,” he says. “They respect leadership that cares about them and their family, someone who understands priorities.” McKay got his start at Rutgers in 1985 as a professor of military science with the Army ROTC.
Upon graduation from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, McKay went through highly specialized, rigorous airborne, Army Ranger and Special Forces training. He commanded the Provincial Reconnaissance Unit in Vietnam from 1968-1969. In addition to learning about leadership, he realized the value of diversity in any organization.
“Everyone was evaluated on how they knew their job. In infantry, the ability of another person to do his job could mean your life,” McKay says. “Color has nothing to do with how you do your job. [People with prejudices] very quickly are disabused of anything like that ... You need to develop a cohesive unit very quickly so there is no tolerance of any of these false barriers.”
In a way, McKay’s military career began before he was born. His grandfather and father served in the first and second World Wars. An athlete-scholar, McKay had already accepted a full tuition scholarship to Harvard University – he would have to pay for most of his room and board – when he got a telegram from his congressman telling him that West Point would accept him.
“I immediately called Harvard and told them,” McKay says. “They didn’t believe it.” With West Point paying all of his expenses and a stipend, his working-class family in Buffalo, N.Y., was relieved of a great burden.
McKay also has served in Egypt, Israel and Thailand, where he was a Special Forces officer. He went through a year of immersive Thai language training and worked closely with Thai military and leadership training forces to serve in Vietnam.
“Regardless of where I was, I always appreciated returning to the United States,” McKay says. Witnessing the Vietnamese struggle against communism made him appreciate the freedoms he enjoys in America. “What we take for
granted was not taken for granted by those people. They fought valiantly for democracy and it’s unfortunate that they failed. It’s helped me appreciate our country and our democracy.”
Photo Cap
Information Technology Vice President Michael McKay in 1985 (right) and present (above), wearing the same Army uniform. McKay served in Egypt, Israel, Vietnam and Thailand
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