Rate My Professor Claire Finlayson

Claire Finlayson serves as a Communications Adviser at the University of Otago, having joined the Communications Advisory Service in 2024. In this role, she works part-time to support communications for the Otago Business School, authoring numerous kōrero pieces and news articles that spotlight key events, student accomplishments, and research highlights. Her published works for the university include coverage of an Otago student winning the Young Econometrician Award in 2025, the 3MT People's Choice recipient described as an extrovert in disguise in 2024, a master's thesis on the paradox of technology's empowerment and enslavement winning acclaim in 2025, decarbonised footprints and displaced ears in tourism research in 2025, an ode to a not-so-straight academic path in 2025, New Zealand MBA Case Competition champions in 2025, an academic helping Queenstown Lakes District build climate resilience in 2025, autism employment playbook promoting neuroinclusive workplaces in 2025, and serving up sustainability in 2025.

With more than two decades as a freelance writer based on Dunedin's Otago Peninsula, Finlayson has contributed to diverse publications such as Otago Magazine and He Kitenga. Notable articles include 'Boomerang student' profiling an octogenarian earning multiple degrees from the University of Otago, 'The taming of the Leith' on campus history led by historian Dr Al Clarke, and 'Fading quake brain' on research from the Department of Psychological Medicine. She advanced the arts and literary sectors as Programme Director of the Dunedin Writers & Readers Festival from 2016 to 2019, curating events with international authors including journalist John Lanchester, Australian author Hannah Kent, and others to appeal to broad audiences. In 2021, she served as a fiction judge for the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards alongside figures like editor Sarah Shieff and Professor Jacob Edmond. Finlayson's academic credentials comprise a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Art History from the University of Canterbury and a Master of Arts in Art History from Victoria University of Wellington.