Derek Finke

Derek Finke is the associate director of educational initiatives at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Previous, he served as the interim assistant director of leadership and social justice within the Division of Student Affairs at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

In addition to his PhD, Derek holds a Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of California at Santa Cruz, where he researched banana slug reproduction and speciation and subsequently used to assistant teach at the San Diego Zoo. Derek went on to earn his Masters in Student Affairs and Higher Education from the University of California at Los Angeles, and spent the next 4 years working in Residence Life.

His professional and research interests are focused on college student experiences that create strong dissonance, and how these experiences impact their reality. At the McBee Institute, Finke's dissertation focused on the social construction of sexual violence on college and university campuses.

Outside of work, he enjoys balancing nerdy and outdoorsy activities, including: board/video games, hiking, reading, biking, and rock climbing.