Gina M. Finelli
Gina M. Finelli
lecturer
Division of Applied Behavioral Sciences
Contact Information:
Phone: 410.837.5349
E-mail: gfinelli@ubalt.edu
Ph.D., American University
M.A., University of South Carolina, Columbia
B.A., Elon University
Gina Finelli's C.V.
When you are young, people always ask you what you want to do when you grow up … well, I still don’t know. I have always been interested in a variety of disciplines, which is probably why I decided to become a social science major when I was an undergraduate. I completed courses in sociology, anthropology, psychology, history, economics, political science and geography and came close to having a minor in just about all of them. But in the process, I discovered that the lens that most closely suited my being was sociology. It is simply where I stand.
For me, teaching is not just an occupation; it is a way of life. In my profession as well as in life, I am committed to helping people reach their full potential—it’s what motivates me. My goal as a teacher is to provide a learning environment that is open to diversity in thought and action, where students use conceptual and theoretical tools to challenge their own assumptions, develop new ones and counter the positions of others. The environment I create should also cultivate both individual growth and team learning and produce students who are able to think critically, understand systems and their relationships to each other, use resources and technology, analyze data, make informed judgments, solve problems and communicate effectively. In other words, I want students to come away from my classes with new learning—about the subject matter, about others and society, and about themselves, so that they may become more complete and productive members of society.
Education and hard work were values my parents instilled in me as the daughter of an Italian immigrant. Not unlike many immigrants, my family members turned to entrepreneurship to capture the so-called “American Dream.” As a result, I grew up in a family-owned vending business. Both my heritage and the family business had such a profound impact on me that when I decided to return to school to complete my doctorate, I went in with the intention of studying family firms.
In addition to family business, my teaching and research interests include applied sociology, organizational behavior, gender, family and work issues, race and ethnic relations, and futures methodologies and knowledge. As an applied sociologist, I have conducted research and provided consulting services for numerous organizations, including the Living Classrooms Foundation, Anne Arundel County Housing and Urban Development, Northrop Grumman, and the Annapolis Community Partnership. For me, it has always been important to put my knowledge to practice. And that is why I am so thrilled to be working at UB.