Feels like home

 

It was about four years ago that Mary Jo Finney, UAA’s new dean of the Graduate School, stepped off the plane at Ted Stevens International Airport for the first time and immediately knew she was home. However, home for her at the time was about 3,700 miles away in the Midwest where she worked at the University of Michigan (UM), Flint for 22 years. It would be a few more years before she would return to Alaska and officially be able to call the Last Frontier home.

Finney, who earned her Ph.D. in reading and language arts, has spent the entirety of her career at UM Flint where she joined the faculty in 1998. Her career has spanned from teaching and faculty development to administrative leadership roles and community program development. But for Finney, the majority of her focus has been in the community of Flint. She recalled that as soon as she moved to Flint and joined the university, it was apparent that it was a community that was struggling on many fronts. At the time, she said she had been performing a lot of educational experimental research and will never forget what her interviewees said to her before she accepted her first job with UM.

“‘Your research is really fascinating — but it’s useless here,’” Finney said laughing. “‘We need someone who can be on the ground and in the community, really helping citizens who are not literate.’” She said there were generations of Flint residents who struggled with reading, which Finney says snowballs into broader societal issues of poverty, job loss, substance abuse and incarceration, all of which can wreak havoc on a community. She realized she needed to adjust her research and become more involved in the community as a faculty member.

Finney rolled up her sleeves, involving herself in the community as much as possible from city churches to medical clinics, hoping to establish a trusting relationship between the community of Flint and the university. Her work paid off in the awarding from the community foundation for the first-ever five-year grant to establish a reading center at UM, which serviced children and their families in literacy programs taught by graduate students needing to earn their clinical hours to become certified reading specialists.

“It helped our students, while at the same time provided a tremendous service to the community,” said Finney. After the hugely successful first year, there was a 200% enrollment increase and Finney was able to expand the reading center’s programs to include a summer writing camp. “The reading center is still operational today and has been very successful. I’m really proud of that, it’s been such a great program.”

Fueled by her success with the reading center, Finney continued her literacy research through a series of grants to help families and their support networks expose pre-kindergarten children to reading through other delivery methods besides books, like songs. Finney spent years of her career on literacy development but transitioned into administration with her first role as the director of the Center for Learning and Teaching at UM Flint, which she described as the university’s faculty development center. 

“I was able to work with every department and school across campus, as well as all of the faculty, helping them to advance their teaching skills,” Finney said. “I absolutely loved it. I was able to learn about my colleagues across all these disciplines and observe them teaching and design methodologies for them to improve their teaching.”

She loved her work in that position, although it wasn’t long until she was tapped to apply for the dean of the Education Department. She served as dean for several years, which she described as challenging work, as the school was faced with a budget deficit. Finney turned around the budget, but during her tenure, she experienced a family tragedy that ultimately led to her stepping away from the position. 

Although she continued to work at UM, she took some time off from her leadership role. Upon her return, she was asked to chair the Education Department, which she tentatively agreed to, but ended up going from acting, to interim to elected chair, where she served for 12 years. 

“We have the most diverse faculty in the history of the department,” said Finney. “We worked really hard to diversify the faculty.” Which Finney said is another career highlight.

Alaska came onto Finney’s radar when a call went out from Education Northwest, a nonprofit based in Portland, Oregon, looking to partner with a university to prepare teachers to teach in remote Alaska villages. Finney was intrigued by the opportunity as she, with colleagues, had received a grant to develop a program for teachers to educate students in highly challenging urban cities — she realized the similarities between the two environments were astonishing. 

“What we were doing in our program seemed like a very natural fit for Alaska,” said Finney. Which she said was a lot of psychological preparation for the teachers. She was asked to speak at a conference that included superintendents and education administrators from across the state and eventually helped develop a program preparing teachers to teach in remote villages. 

Despite spending her entire life in the Midwest, Finney knows she’s in the right place and that Alaska is truly home. She is looking forward to leading the graduate school and understands the dynamics of navigating a tough budget situation — she’s been there before. As a new resident, she’s excited to get to know the university and the community it serves, as well as do a little exploring and to learn more about the state and culture she just moved to.

“This just feels like a place where I can do my best work,” Finney said.