Rate My Professor Claire Finlayson

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.