{"id":86675,"date":"2023-06-27T15:54:01","date_gmt":"2023-06-27T19:54:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=86675"},"modified":"2023-06-28T09:36:58","modified_gmt":"2023-06-28T13:36:58","slug":"greg-finn-retires-after-38-years-at-brock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2023\/06\/greg-finn-retires-after-38-years-at-brock\/","title":{"rendered":"Greg Finn retires after 38 years at Brock"},"content":{"rendered":"

What started as a short-term contract turned into a lifetime career at Brock University for Greg Finn.<\/p>\n

\u201cOriginally, the plan was to stay for a year,\u201d says Finn, Special Advisor to the President and Provost, who retires at the end of June after almost 38 years at Brock.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Greg Finn\u2019s official faculty photo from 1988.<\/p><\/div>\n

When he was still a PhD student at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Finn was hired as a geology lecturer at Brock to cover a one-year sabbatical.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring my first year of teaching at Brock in 1985, I wore a T-shirt and red Converse to teach in and was often mistaken for a student,\u201d he recalls fondly.<\/p>\n

When an assistant professor position became available, however, it set a course for Finn\u2019s future that would lead to opportunities in administration, outreach and science education.<\/p>\n

In many ways, his career has paralleled Brock\u2019s growth over the past four decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack then, the entire student body totalled 7,000 \u2014 and half of those were part-time students. Now, with more than 19,000 students, the growth in student population demonstrates how we have grown our graduate and undergraduate programs to meet the needs of community \u2014 locally, nationally and internationally \u2014 and expanded the physical appearance of our campus,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Finn played a significant role in that growth, spending 13 years in senior administrative roles at Brock. He served as Provost and Vice-President, Academic from 2018 to 2020; Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Academic from 2007-2018; Associate Dean in the Faculty of Mathematics and Science from 2003 to 2007; and Chair of the Department of Earth Sciences from 1996 to 2002.<\/p>\n

Among his many contributions to Brock, Finn is perhaps most proud of his role in the creation of Brock\u2019s Yousef Haj-Ahmad Department of Engineering<\/a> and the establishment of the University\u2019s first undergraduate engineering program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had my first meeting about bringing engineering to Brock with Rudi Kroeker, Tom Rankin and Ian Brindle in 2007,\u201d Finn says. \u201cAs local businessmen, they were having trouble hiring engineers in certain disciplines and looking to us for help.\u201d<\/p>\n

The conversations gained momentum under the leadership of former Brock University President and Vice-Chancellor Gervan Fearon, with programs taking shape and faculty recruitment taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

\"Trish<\/a>

Greg (right) and Trish Finn founded a scholarship in their name at Brock University.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt took a long time to get us here, and there is still much work to be done,\u201d says Finn. \u201cThe initial faculty members hired to launch the program<\/a> have been doing an amazing job as Brock prepares to welcome its first cohort of engineering students in September 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Finn\u2019s time at Brock is drawing to a close, he remains committed to the University\u2019s success. He and his wife Trish, a retired Brock employee, recently established an undergraduate award for an enrolled second-year student.<\/p>\n

The Greg and Trish Finn Scholarship will be given to a first-generation undergraduate student in the Faculty of Mathematics and Science or the Faculty of Social Sciences who demonstrates academic merit. The award will alternate between the two Faculties.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrish and I were each the first generation in our families to attend university,\u201d says Finn. \u201cWe remember second year, feeling the financial crunch and wanted to help in this way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Finns, who are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary this year, have two children, Matthew (BA \u201910) and Heather (BRLS \u201813), both Brock graduates. The couple is also looking forward to welcoming their first grandchild in September. Once retired, Finn plans to travel, enjoy 10 a.m. tea with Trish and resume his woodworking hobby.<\/p>\n

Until then, he\u2019s ending his time at Brock the way he started by wearing his signature red Converse to select functions.<\/p>\n

Also retiring June 30 are:<\/p>\n