For the new pharmacy dean, leadership starts in the hallways

Christopher Finch, dean of the R. Ken Coit College of Pharmacy, is a big believer in "management by walking around." Finch, who began as dean Aug. 1, says "doing business in the hallways" allows him to ask questions, gather input and connect with the college community.

Finch came to the U of A from the University of Tennessee Health Sciences center and has held several leadership positions in academia and health-system pharmacy. An accomplished researcher, he has published more than 80 manuscripts in pharmacy and medical journals.

In this Q&A, Finch talks about his journey from the baseball diamond to the University of Arizona, how his work in academia and hospital practice has shaped his career, and his vision for the college's future.

What drew you to pharmacy, and what drew you to the University of Arizona?

I went to a small liberal arts college on a baseball scholarship. I found chemistry and biology interesting – I can assure you I was the only player on the team who was majoring in chemistry. But, I had no idea what I wanted to do. 

My dad was a high school principal, and my mom was a high school teacher, but my grandparents kept telling me they thought I'd be a good pharmacist. So I thought, "OK, I'll check into that."

I went to pharmacy school at the University of Tennessee. At first, I thought was going to own my own little community pharmacy, but I realized that wasn't where my passion lay. I became interested in health-system pharmacy and built a career that included clinical work, teaching and administration.

I eventually returned to academia at the University of Tennessee. Seven years later, somebody called me about the dean position here. I had lived in and around Memphis most of my life, but it was an opportunity I just couldn't pass up.

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How has your background in clinical work, teaching and administration. shaped your approach to leadership?

I think my leadership style has been shaped by what I've seen throughout my career. I know what it takes to be a good pharmacist. When I work with physicians, I see that the people who step into these leadership roles were not just good physicians; they saw a bigger picture. They were able to understand and acknowledge the things that they don't know. I ask a lot of questions to make sure that I understand fully before I make any type of decisions.

I'm a big believer in "management by walking around." You'll hear me talk about this a lot. I walk the halls of the college, hopefully getting to see students, faculty and so forth. That's something I've always believed in – doing business in the hallways.

What excites you most about the college, and what are you hoping to build on?

The foundation that has been laid here is tremendous. I'm walking into a program that's top 30 in U.S. News and World Report and No. 4 nationally for NIH funding from a college of pharmacy. That's just unheard of.

We want to continue to expand on our key areas of research and build on the foundation that's already been laid. That's the exciting thing. Maybe there are some new perspectives, some new investments of time and effort that might just help something flourish.

What are some of the biggest challenges and opportunities facing pharmacy right now?

COVID really wreaked havoc on pharmacy admissions. Nationally, pharmacy admissions went down about 45% to 50%. The applicant pool was cut in half. Part of that's due to the negative publicity pharmacists took and the demands pharmacists were experiencing during COVID — the negative publicity around the workload being experienced by pharmacists all over the country.

With all that going on nationally, the University of Arizona has done an unbelievable job maintaining its admissions. The Office of Student Services should truly be congratulated on its continued success.

This is where education comes in. The profession has taken a stance that we're going to educate people on all the opportunities that exist in pharmacy, not just what they see every day. There are pharmacists in research and in health systems and in so many other areas.

If we talked again in five years, what would you hope the college is known for?

I really want this to be a top 10 destination. I want the research enterprise to continue to just skyrocket. I think that we have an unbelievable foundation for that, and I can't brag on it enough.

If you were asking colleagues specifically, I would hope that they would say that during my time at the university, Chris built a community. That sounds cliché, but a community where people recognize they are part of a team working on a mission together. I aspire to create an atmosphere where everyone recognizes their purpose and their role on the team and knows that everyone is a valuable contributor.

What interest you outside of work?

I have two boys. I have a 19-year-old and a 21-year-old.

One is a senior at Berry College in Rome, Georgia, and he plays baseball there. So what I'll be doing this spring. I'll fly to Georgia on Friday so I can catch all the weekend series. That's near and dear to me. I played baseball in college. Baseball has been a big part of our family. He's going to follow in his dad's footsteps. He applied for pharmacy school last week at the University of Arizona, so I'm really excited about that.

My youngest son also played baseball and had the opportunity to play in college. He chose not to continue, and he's a sophomore at the University of Tennessee. He's enjoying college life, but he also made a 4.0 his first year, so I was thrilled for him.