After Bob Finn (’88) crossed the stage at his undergraduate commencement ceremony, his best friend, roommate, and fellow Gonzaga baseball player with whom he’d lived for the last three years said to him with a chuckle, “Hey Bob, they made a mistake! They said you majored in biology!”
“I did,” Finn replied with a laugh, recalling later that it wasn’t a surprise that his teammates were clueless about his major because, “our lives revolved around baseball.”
But when he wasn’t on the mound pitching for the Zags, Finn could be found in the basement of Hughes Hall mating fruit flies and mapping their genotypes—he was fascinated with genetics.
“I pretty seriously thought about going pre-med,” said Finn, “but once I started teaching and realized how long it’d take to go through med school, I let that idea go and got my masters in curriculum instruction, instead.”
Raised in the Spokane Valley, Finn was an all-around athlete, playing football, basketball, and baseball in high school. He contemplated going to Gonzaga Prep, but after meeting an inspirational new football coach, stayed at West Valley High.
“I was all-state football and all-state baseball,” he said proudly, “but was just too short to play football in college.” Instead, Finn received a baseball scholarship to Eastern Washington University before transferring to Gonzaga to play for the legendary Coach Steve Hertz. In his first year on the team, Finn found his way into some mischief with his teammates and a forklift that earned him a few stern words from Hertz.
“His rule was, ‘I don’t care if you mess up if you own it and then we go forward,’” Finn remembered. “I’ve always had a lot of respect for him and the way he handled things like that.” Finn has faced similar situations with Gonzaga students now as a member of the University Conduct Board and said that he always thinks about how Coach Hertz handled his situation when he considers scenarios now.
(Bob Finn with the 1986-1987 Gonzaga Baseball team)
After graduating from Gonzaga, Finn taught biology for 16 years in San Diego and at University High School in Spokane Valley. He was working toward his principal credential when former Director of Gonzaga’s Alumni Association Marty Pujolar invited him to apply for the role of his replacement. Finn applied, and on the day he finished his final exams for his credential in 2005, then Vice President for University Advancement Margot Stanfield called and offered him the job.
A natural extrovert who enjoys being surrounded by people, Finn loves his current role in Advancement as senior alumni engagement officer, securing sponsorships and working with alumni to ensure that the many regional and Alumni Association scholarships are funded.
“The regional scholarships are close to a million now,” he said, beaming, “and there’s just over two million in the Alumni scholarship.” Scholarships made all the difference for Finn’s own college experience.
“The other baseball players would go out to eat, and I’d buy a bag of potatoes,” said Finn. “One of my friends told me to go see his sister, who worked in financial aid, and she asked me, ‘what do you need?’ I told her I didn’t have anything to eat, and she helped find me enough to get going. I still worked three jobs to get through school, but it was an incredible start.”
Finn’s favorite part about his work is being on the road, meeting with others who love Gonzaga as much as he does. His wife and two daughters at times appreciate the “break” from Finn’s natural extroversion that his travel provides.
So, keep an eye out for Bob Finn at game watches, TREKs, and other alumni events across the country—you can bet he’ll know the names of just about everybody there.
