Michael J. McGhee (1964)

Michael J. McGhee (1964) was born in Van Nuys, California. His parents were both from Los Angeles, California. He went to public school in Southern California and was also homeschooled. He attended Alvin Community College (Alvin Texas) and has a Certificate in Broadcasting (2002) and an Associate in Applied Science Degree in Broadcasting (2005). He also has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Loyola Marymount University (Los Angeles) with honors (2007) Magna cum Laude. McGhee is a member of Lambda Pi Eta and Delta Epsilon Iota honors societies. He has/is attended the London School of Economics and Political Science and University of Southern California at the Post-Graduate level. His main area of research is in the area of Rhetoric, Propaganda, Theology, and Peace Studies.

McGhee is from one of the south’s most notable families. They immigrated to North Carolina in the 17th century and Tennessee in the mid and late 18th century. The McGhee’s married into the White family of Knoxville and the main city library (Lawson McGhee Library) and international/regional airport (McGhee Tyson Airport) are named after them. In addition, the family funded the construction of the Episcopal Cathedral (Saint John’s) in Knoxville and has a special stained glass window dedicated to the family. The McGhee’s used leftover materials from the cathedral to construct Saint Andrew’s Riverside near their plantation. The Masonic Hall in Knoxville was one of the family’s mansions and was dedicated to the Masonic fraternity after the death of Charles McClung McGhee. The families land holdings were estimated to be over 80,000 acres at one time with the main plantation being located near Vonore/McGhee, Tennessee – this plantation was named Tuskeega. This plantation encompasses part of North and South Carolina and Tennessee. Two chapters are dedicated to this family in Alberta and Carson Brewer’s 1975 book Valley So Wild. The family also maintained land and commercial holdings in Kentucky and Illinois purchased during the westward expansions. Michael J. McGhee is a descendent of the McGhee/Hall branch of this family.

Michael McGhee’s father was George Louis McGhee (1925-2000). His grandfather James William McGhee and great grandfather (Rev. Nicholas Bois McGhee (1857-1927) were the first members of the family to move to California in 1905.McGhee’s maternal great grandfather Paul Ashley Chase (1878-1946) was one of the founding executives of Warner Brother’s.