Stony Brook President Maurie McInnis appointed Justin Fincher as vice president of advancement and executive director of the Stony Brook Foundation after a year-long national search, according to a letter from her office on June 8.
Fincher currently serves as vice president of advancement, strategy and administration at The Ohio State University. There, he led a campaign that garnered over $3 billion dollars while engaging over 750,000 alumni donors. Fincher is expected to perform in a similar capacity in his new role at Stony Brook.
“Justin is an experienced advancement leader who embraces collaboration and teamwork, and whose education and career have been shaped by public universities,” McInnis said in her letter. “He believes that they create opportunity and make a meaningful impact like no other educational institutions.”
In his role, Fincher will report directly to McGinnis as part of her senior management team. He will act as a leader in university development and head the alumni operations team on top of his duties at the Stony Brook Foundation. Fincher will replace interim vice president Deborah Lowen Klein on Aug. 23.
“I believe in the power of public research universities to develop engaged citizens who make a meaningful difference within their communities,” said Fincher in a press release. “Stony Brook has been on a remarkable journey, and I am thrilled to join President McInnis and a passionate team that is poised for continued growth. My family and I look forward to joining the Stony Brook family and meeting members of the campus community, alumni, and friends.”
Outside of his university roles, Fincher is a volunteer leader at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), as well as a founder and leader of Advancement Leadership Lab. The lab brings together nine public research universities to speed up the growth of senior leadership in advancement organizations, like the Stony Brook Foundation. It is unclear whether Stony Brook will be invited to join the lab.
Fincher holds a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Rutgers University. He earned both his master’s in education and PhD in higher education administration from the University of Maryland.
