Johnette Edwards McKown, Ed. D., is the third president of McLennan Community College, a position she has held since September 1, 2009. During her 24-year tenure at MCC, Dr. McKown has provided leadership for the campus, first as Vice President of Business Services and then as Executive Vice President.

Her many accomplishments at McLennan Community College include providing leadership in commitment to student scholarships, enhancing the Presidential Scholar program and community engagement, leading the sustainability movement on campus and nationally, bringing innovative financing to the campus to add more than $117 million in improvements and new construction, successful master planning, and enhancing campus safety with upgraded technology.

For ten years, she served as adjunct instructor in the School of Education at Baylor University where she taught Business and Finance in Higher Education in their Scholars of Practice doctoral program. She periodically teaches English at McLennan Community College.

Active in the community, Dr. McKown serves on the Boards of the Waco Family Practice Foundation, KWBU Public Radio, the MCC Foundation, the United Way, and is Co-Chair of the Community Visioning Board. Additionally, she volunteers with Christian Women's Job Corp and the Talitha Koum Institute. She has served as President of Waco Sunrise Rotary and the Heart of Texas Business Resource Center and is a member of the Waco Business League.

McKown was recognized as a Bluebonnet Girl Scout Council Woman of Distinction, as a Pathfinder in a Non-Traditional Role by the Waco YWCA, and as the recipient of the Nelson Award for Community College Administrative Leadership from the Texas Association of Community Colleges. Additionally, she received the Distinguished Alumni Citation from Texas A&M University-Commerce. More recently, she was selected to participate in the Harvard Institute for Experienced Presidents.

She has been actively engaged in professional organizations, including Community College Business Officers and National Association of College and University Business Officers, and has chaired a committee and served on numerous accreditation teams for the Commission on Colleges--Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, where she now serves on the Board of Trustees. Also, she serves on the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Association of Community College Trustees.

McKown received a BA in English from Louisiana College, a M.Ed. in reading and community college education from Texas A&M University-Commerce, an AA from Paris (Texas) Junior College, and an Ed. D. in secondary and higher education in curriculum and instruction from Texas A&M University-Commerce.

A much sought after speaker, Dr. McKown has made presentations on the local, state, and national level on such topics as Winning a Bond Election-The Second Time Around, Tragedy on Campus-Lessons Learned, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's Leadership Conference on Understanding the Revenue Mix for Texas Community Colleges & the State Budgeting Process, and Data-Driven Decision Making.