Patrick Finnegan

Born in Fukuoka, Japan, to a military family, Finnegan spent most of his childhood moving across the globe. Finnegan's father, Col. John B. Finnegan, U.S. Army (Ret.), served in the Army for 32 years.[4] Finnegan graduated from the Cardinal Gibbons School in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1967. Following high school, he attended the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. While a cadet, Finnegan served as the chairman of the Honor Committee and manager of the Army Black Knights football team his senior year.[5] Finnegan graduated from West Point in 1971 and commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army.[6]

General Finnegan had a distinguished Army career, serving as an infantry, intelligence, and Judge Advocate General's Corps officer for over 39 years.[7] Following graduation, Finnegan was selected to attend the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where he earned a Master of Public Administration, graduating in 1973.[2] After Harvard, Finnegan attended the infantry officer's basic course and graduated from Airborne School.[7]

Finnegan's first assignment was 3rd Battalion Adjutant, 39th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division at Fort Lewis near Tacoma, Washington, from 1973 to 1974.[5] Following Fort Lewis, he served as Headquarters Company Commander, U.S. Army Security Agency, Material Support Command at Vint Hill Farms Station in Virginia from 1975 to 1976.[5] During this time, he was selected for the Army JAG Funded Legal Education Program, and was accepted to the University of Virginia School of Law in 1976.[4][5] While a law student at UVA, Finnegan served as an editor of the Virginia Law Review and was selected to join the Order of the Coif.[5][8] Finnegan graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1979.[2]

Following law school, Finnegan served his initial JAG tour with the 8th Infantry Division in Bad Kreuznach, Germany, serving as trial counsel, Chief of Administrative Law, and Chief of Military justice between 1979 and 1982.[5] In 1983, Finnegan was assigned to The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, Virginia, serving as a criminal law instructor and the Deputy Director of the Academic Department.[4] In 1988, Finnegan served as the Chief of Administrative and Civil Law for XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.[5] During this assignment, Finnegan deployed in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, serving as a staff judge advocate.[6] In 1991, Finnegan served as a legal advisor to Commander and staff of Joint Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg.[4][5] In 1994, he served as a Staff Judge Advocate and legal advisor to the Commander, United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) at MacDill AFB near Tampa, Florida.[4][5] In 1996, Finnegan served as the principal legal advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, United States European Command in Stuttgart, Germany.[4][5]

In 1998, Finnegan returned to his Alma Mater, the U.S. Military Academy as the Staff Judge Advocate.[5] While at West Point, Finnegan was appointed the Head of the Department of Law and served as a professor.[5] In 2005, Finnegan was recommended and approved for the rank of Brigadier General, to serve as the 12th Dean of the Academic Board at West Point.[9] While serving as the Dean, Finnegan traveled to Hollywood with several FBI interrogators to voice concerns to the producers of the hit TV series 24.[10] Finnegan expressed concerns that featuring torture on the TV series could damage the international image of the United States, and might sway public opinion in favor of torture as a tactic in war.[11][12] Finnegan, along with several others at the meeting, urged the producers to limit the use of torture in the TV series.[11] While serving as Dean, West Point received numerous accolades, including being ranked the #1 Public College in the Nation by Forbes magazine and the best Public Liberal Arts College by the Princeton Review.[13] Finnegan continued in his post as Dean until he announced his retirement from active duty in 2010.[7]

In 2010, Longwood University announced it had selected Finnegan as the 25th President of the school.[6] While serving as President, Finnegan undertook several initiatives that included the creation of an academic strategic plan that was collaborated campus-wide, securing Longwood University's membership in the NCAA Division I Big South Conference, and creating an Office of Sponsored Programs and Research to aide in funding for faculty research projects.[14] In 2012, citing health reasons, Finnegan announced he would be stepping down as President.[15]

In July 2018, Finnegan died of an apparent heart attack.[3]

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