Kevin Finn is dean and Professor of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences and Director of Clinical Partnerships at Colby-Sawyer College. He brings over a decade of administrative, teaching and research experience, and prior to his current role at Colby-Sawyer College was the Associate Dean and Professor for the School of Health Sciences at Merrimack College. In this role, Finn created and oversaw initiatives on clinical and internship placements, curriculum development, program implementation, and research outcomes that were instrumental in the growth of Health Sciences at Merrimack College.

He earned his B.S. in sports medicine from Merrimack College, master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Fairfield University and Ed.D. in curriculum and teaching from Boston University. Finn is also a Massachusetts-licensed athletic trainer, a certified strength and conditioning specialist, a fellow for the American College of Sports Medicine and a fellow for the National Science Foundation’s Initiative Science Educations for New Civic Engagement and Responsibility.

He has focused much of his research on the promotion of physical activity and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) learning in children, and has worked closely with schools and their after-school programs in order to implement strategies for increasing physical activity while improving academic performances of students. He was a co-investigator for the national program Active Science, which has been funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and New Balance Foundation, and brings together physical activity, technology, and academic achievement in school children.

His other area of research has also included the effects of pedagogical tools used in college classrooms to promote student learning and perceptions in science. As part of his research, Finn has had students use personal response systems and peer-led team-learning in science courses to improve student knowledge and attitudes. Joint-research has showed that students who take an integrated lecture and lab course earned better grades on average, and had fewer incidents of dropping the classes than those who take a lecture and lab on separate days. Results of the research were consistent for lower level and upper level courses.