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Dr. Mary Jo Finney appointed dean of ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°åA Graduate School

Dr. Mary Jo Finney will serve as the new dean of the ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°åA Graduate School beginning Aug. 1.

Finney comes to ÂÌÅ«Ì컨°åA from the University of Michigan-Flint, where she is currently a tenured professor of education, chair of the Education Department and director of the Secondary M.A.C. program. Significant accomplishments from her time at UM-Flint include: hiring the largest and most diverse faculty in the history of the Education Department; co-designing the curriculum for the Secondary M.A.C. program; securing a six-figure grant to establish a "Pop-Up School," which has now delivered early childhood education to nearly 10,000 at-risk children in 41 communities; and building numerous local, national and international partnerships to further faculty and student success, such as the exchange program she established with Charles University in Prague.

In addition to her extensive professorial and administrative experience, Finney's scholarly contributions include dozens of research articles (published in the Michigan Reading Journal and Language Arts Journal of Michigan, among others) and conference presentations. Finney has also served as a professional consultant, including ongoing work for The Alaska Teacher Project to address high teacher turnover rates in Alaska villages by developing a Secondary M.A.C. for rural teacher preparation.

Finney earned her Ph.D. and M.A.T. in reading and language arts from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, and her B.A. in education from Michigan State University.