Mike Wintemute, Ph.D.

Mike Wintemute has served as Vice Chancellor for Marketing and Communications since 2020, having joined TSUS 10 years earlier as a member of the system's governmental relations team. As chief marketing and communications officer, Dr. Wintemute manages the reputation and image of TSUS and provides strategic communications support to the system's executive team and institution leaders. He also serves as Executive Director of the TSUS Foundation, a non-profit corporation that provides private financial support to the system and its member institutions.

Prior to joining TSUS, Wintemute served as Communications Director for Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst. In this role, he managed Mr. Dewhurst’s communications, press, and constituent affairs offices and served as chief spokesperson for the Texas Senate's presiding officer.

A California native, Wintemute was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to serve as Deputy Director for Communications at the California Department of Fish and Game, Deputy Secretary for Communications at the California Environmental Protection Agency, and Deputy Secretary for External Affairs at the California Resources Agency. In these positions, he oversaw the communications and external affairs programs of 40 departments, boards, commissions, and conservancies. 

Wintemute worked on several of Governor Schwarzenegger's key conservation initiatives, including the Marine Life Protection Act, Climate Action Initiative, and Hearst Ranch Conservation Plan – the largest land conservation initiative in California history. At the Resources Agency, he was responsible for crafting the administration’s Roadless Rule protecting 4.4 million acres of National Forest land. 

Before joining the Schwarzenegger Administration, Wintemute worked as Press Secretary for the California Republican Party and as a communications consultant in the California State Assembly, serving under four consecutive Republican leaders.

Wintemute began his career as a broadcast news reporter in Northern California covering state and local government, the courts, and breaking news. His reporting garnered awards from the Associated Press Television-Radio Association, Radio-Television News Directors Association, and The New York Festivals.

Wintemute earned a bachelor's degree in Telecommunications from California State University, Fresno, a master's degree in Communication Studies from California State University, Sacramento, and a Ph.D. in Media & Communication from Texas Tech University.