Nazareth welcomes Maureen Forrester Finney as provost

Nazareth College welcomes Maureen Forrester Finney, Ed.D., as the new provost, the College's chief academic officer. With more than 20 years of experience in innovative excellence in higher education leadership, Finney's role is to shape and maintain the Nazareth learning community to prepare future-ready changemaking Nazareth graduates. She begins on or about July 1, 2022.

Finney serves currently as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Hilbert College. She brings expertise and accomplishments in undergraduate, graduate, and continuing professional education — from local to global, and including an array of pedagogies and modalities. Experiential learning, equity, interdisciplinarity, and community partnerships have been central in the major initiatives she has spearheaded. She is also experienced in achieving grant and philanthropic support for strategic institutional initiatives.

"Maureen is a strong, caring, and positive leader who brings people together to imagine, plan, and create," said Nazareth President Beth Paul, Ph.D. "Mission and values guide her work, and I look forward to seeing her vision unfold as she embraces Nazareth's holistic learning mission and works to successfully integrate academic discovery and learning, with student experience and development."

Finney, who was chosen as the top candidate after a national search, has proven herself in her role as a change agent leader throughout her career, cultivating institutional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through education and action.

"I am so very thrilled and honored to serve as the provost of Nazareth College," said Finney. "The community's support of the mission of the institution is palpable, and I am ever enthused to promote Nazareth's vision of implementing transformative educational opportunities. I am passionate about inclusivity and look forward to collaborating with the entire community to build on Nazareth's strong commitment to equity and integrative learning."

Finney earned her bachelor's in biochemistry from Niagara University and her master's in natural sciences from SUNY Buffalo. She completed her physician assistant bachelor's degree, and her doctorate in health policy and education from D'Youville University, where she spent 14 years as chairperson of the physician assistant department and six years as the dean of the School of Health Professions. As the dean, she led eight departments, with an accompanying enrollment of nearly 1,000 students, 60 full-time faculty and 50 adjunct faculty.

As a New York State registered physician's assistant, Finney continues to be active in physician assistant associations in New York state and the American Academy of Physician Assistants. She practiced clinically as a physician assistant in an underserved area of Buffalo for 24 years. As a proud graduate of the Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart high school, she serves on its STEM board, and she is a board of trustees member at St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute.

Nazareth University is an inclusive community of inspired learners, educators, and changemakers who for nearly 100 years have been driven by a bold commitment to action, empathy, equity, and leading innovation for the common good. Impact experiences are at the heart of a Nazareth education, preparing each student to discover within themselves the potential to cultivate positive change in their life's work, in any career field, and in a world that is constantly evolving and infinitely interconnected.

Our broad academic offerings present a range of study options typical of larger universities, yet achieved in our supportive campus culture. Nearly 2,100 undergrad and 600 graduate students enroll in degree and certificate programs and engage in collaborative, transformative learning experiences, preparing for the professions and society of today and tomorrow. In a learning community that purposefully integrates liberal arts and professional programs, Nazareth University graduates are able to launch a lifetime of impactful leadership in communities and workplaces near and far.

• published: 2022 May
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