Prof. Kenneth McDonald, Ph.D.

Professor Kenneth W. McDonald is a professor of engineering management in the Department of Systems Engineering at the United States Military Academy, West Point. With 28 years of service as a U.S. Army engineer officer, his career includes roles such as chief of the engineering division at the U.S. Army Engineer School at Fort Leonard Wood, contingency engineer at EUCOM Joint Staff in Kosovo, deputy commander for base operations and engineering at the 19th Theater Support Command in Korea, deputy commander for the Gulf Region Division South District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Iraq for two years, and deputy commander of the New York District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in New York City.

Professor McDonald holds a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from the United States Military Academy, an MBA in information systems from the Meinders School of Business at Oklahoma City University, a Master of Science in city and regional planning and a Master of Science in geography from Western Kentucky University, a Master of Arts in Christian ethics from Immaculate Conception Seminary and School of Theology at Seton Hall University, a Master of Arts in character education from the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, and a Master of Science in environmental engineering and a PhD in geological engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology. He is a licensed professional civil engineer (PE) in Virginia and Wyoming, a certified planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), a registered Project Management Professional (PMP), and a certified professional in engineering management (CPEM).

Professor McDonald has authored or co-authored more than 50 technical publications, including book chapters and peer-reviewed articles on topics such as infrastructure, capacity development, geotechnical engineering, engineering management, value modeling and virtue ethics. He co-authored the book Pursuing the Honorable – Reawakening Honor in the Modern Military. He is a fellow of the American Society for Engineering Management and has been inducted into both the Missouri S&T Academy of Mines and Metallurgy and the Academy of Civil Engineers. Additionally, he was awarded the 2013 Society of American Military Engineers Bliss Medal for excellence in engineering education and student mentorship. Prof. McDonald is a Fulbright Scholar, having taught leadership and character development to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kosovo in 2019 and evaluated the national educational system of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in 2014.

His research and consulting focus on capacity development and decision analysis in the context of infrastructure, reconstruction and organizational management. He has a particular interest in virtue ethics as it relates to leadership, character development and engineering ethics. Prof. McDonald has worked on a variety of economic development and assessment projects in Afghanistan, Africa, Djibouti, Germany, Iraq, Korea, Kosovo, Panama and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.