Mike Wintemute has served as Vice Chancellor for Marketing & 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, 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 the Lieutenant Governor of Texas. A California native, Wintemute was a three-time appointee of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and served as spokesman for the California Republican Party during the historic gubernatorial recall election in 2003. He previously worked as a communications consultant in the California State Assembly under four consecutive minority leaders.
Wintemute began his career as a broadcast news reporter in Northern California covering state and local government, the courts, and breaking news. He 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.