Prof. Kevin McKenna

Professor Kevin McKenna, the Honorary President of ACICES, is the current president of the Council for International Students of WA (CISWA), a community-based organization devoted to the welfare of international students for 60 years.

Kevin is an expert in education internationalization through his rich experience in Australia’s education sector. He took up several roles in Curtin Business School including Executive Dean, then he acted as Pro Vice-Chancellor of Curtin’s campus in Malaysia for five years, followed by another five years as head of Curtin’s International Operations, retiring as Deputy Vice Chancellor, International in October 2009.

From 2004 to 2009, he shouldered the overall responsibility for all of Curtin’s international operations, as Pro Vice-Chancellor then Deputy Vice-Chancellor, International. He oversaw 7,000 offshore students in various partnership arrangement in over a dozen countries as well as managing the recruitment of 3,000 students per year at the Perth campus. A major outcome was the development of strategies aimed at increasing the flow of international students to Curtin’s Bentley campus, including programs focusing on attracting high quality research students. In 2008 he was responsible for the establishment of Curtin’s Singapore campus.

In 1999 and 2000, he acted as Executive Dean in charge of Curtin Business School. Over the time, he developed several new offshore partnerships and was actively involved in the planning and management of all international activities. In June 2000, he was appointed as the founding Pro Vice-Chancellor at Curtin University’s Malaysian Campus in Miri, Sarawak. For nearly five years he was responsible for the policies, planning and operations at the campus and for the recruitment of both local and international students.

From 1994 till 1999, he was Quality Coordinator then Director, Planning and Quality for Curtin’s Business School. The major responsibilities of this role involved the planning, review and management of the Business School’s extensive international operations. Before Kevin joined Curtin University teaching economics and public finance, he was an economist with the Australia Federal Government in Canberra.