Champlain College inaugurates President David F. Finney

Champlain College celebrated the Inauguration of its seventh president, Dr. David F. Finney, in the IDX Student Life Center on Saturday, November 19, 2005. Finney delivered his inaugural address and was invested as president after receiving greetings from Governor James Douglas, College trustees and administrators.

The Champlain College Music Makers provided music, as did the Pipes and Drums of the St. Andrew's Society of Vermont, who led an academic procession that included delegates of 41 colleges and universities.

In his inaugural address, Finney celebrated Champlain's strong history of professional preparation and the College's tightly woven relationship with Vermont community. He also shared some of his major initiatives as president, which include developing a more powerful core curriculum that hones students' critical thinking skills and polishes their communication skills, creating additional study-abroad experiences and increasing diversity on campus, and further enhancing the College's and students' engagement with the community, the state and employers.

"Our goal is to create what I hope will be a radically interdisciplinary core curriculum that will encourage the skills of critical reflection and effective communication. It should also place our professional programs into historic context through a broad and rigorous exploration of cultural and social history," Finney said.

"Students graduating from Champlain must understand how the world of today came to be," he said. "But they must also be equipped to dream of a better world—a better tomorrow—because that is where leadership begins."

Dr. David F. Finney has been described as an entrepreneurial educator and strategic thinker whose distinguished record in administration spans the field of higher education. During a 20-year career at New York University, Finney held top management positions in several undergraduate and graduate areas. Most recently the dean of NYU's School of Continuing and Professional Studies, Finney was responsible for the development of its online program called The Virtual College, the study-abroad program and the Corporate Learning Services office.

He previously served as assistant to NYU's president and oversaw the restoration of the five villas of NYU's campus in Florence, Italy. He directed its activities and supervised the administrative staff at NYU's four sites in Prague, London, Buenos Aires and Florence. During his tenure at NYU, Finney was a faculty member in the Department of Higher Education. He was also assistant vice president and then associate vice president for enrollment services, supervising the offices of admissions, financial aid, registrar, enrollment services, advertising and publications. Under his leadership, undergraduate applications increased considerably and the quality of the incoming freshman classes significantly improved.

Finney joined NYU in 1985 as director of admissions for the university's seven undergraduate schools. Previously, he had been director of admissions at Rochester Institute of Technology. Finney's primary areas of scholarly interest are higher education and effective teaching in continuing education programs. He is the author of the 1997 book Financing Your College Degree: A Guide for Adult Students.

He earned a bachelor of arts in psychology from Westminster College, a master's in higher education from Bowling Green State University, and a master of science and a doctor of education, both in higher and adult education, from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Raised on a farm in Mercer, Pennsylvania, the fifth of seven children, Finney was the first of his family to graduate from college. He is married to Sabine Zerarka, associate general counsel at Standard and Poor's, and he has two daughters: Lauren, a junior at Skidmore College, and Heather, a freshman at Hamilton College. Finney enjoys downhill, cross-country and water skiing as well as golfing, bicycling and reading.

Finney, 53, succeeded retiring Champlain College president Dr. Roger H. Perry on July 1, 2005. Finney is taking the helm of a private, baccalaureate institution that offers career-oriented programs--in business, technology and human services--balanced by a liberal arts foundation. The College offers master's, bachelor's and associate's degrees and professional certificates in 27 fields