Barbara Finlay, the W.R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Psychology Emerita and an award-winning scholar who challenged traditional thinking regarding psychology and brain function, died Sept. 12. She was 75.
A member of the Cornell faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences since 1976, Finlay published widely in the field of neuroscience and was the winner of the 2024 Pinkney J. Harman Award for “extraordinary work on evolution of the cortex and the nervous system,” awarded by the Cajal Club, an academic organization dedicated to neuroanatomy.
“Barb was a maverick who challenged the field to think differently and to go beyond simple first principles, or the ‘mode du jour,’ and instead to think deeply about the true roots of brain function,” said Alexander Ophir, professor and department chair in psychology (A&S). “She was a true visionary, pressuring the scientific community, within and outside of evolutionary neuroscience, forward into new creative and inspired territory.”
Born 1950 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Finlay received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Oberlin College in 1972 and her Ph.D. in brain and cognitive sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1976.
She began her career studying the neurobiological development of the optic nerve, publishing an article in Nature her first year as a junior professor, Ophir said. This was followed by hundreds of publications, presentations and collaborations across scientific disciplines.
“I cannot imagine our field without Barb, her wisdom, her humor, her knowledge, her insight into how brains actually develop and evolve. We have lost an irreplaceable intellectual giant,” said Lucia F. Jacobs, professor of psychology and neuroscience, Emerita, University of California, Berkeley. “I returned to Ithaca a few years after graduating, still not sure about next steps. Barb hired me as her sole technician, someone with very little lab experience, none in neuroscience, and taught me everything.”
During her tenure at Cornell, Finlay served as director of graduate studies and chair of the psychology department. She also served as editor of the journal Behavioral and Brain Sciences for more than 20 years.
“As the department chair when I was hired, Barb was instrumental in giving me a chance to pursue my interests in brain and behavior and to prove myself as a psychologist. My own background had been in electrical engineering and computer science,” said Shimon Edelman, professor of psychology (A&S). “Learning from her over the years helped me build a true intellectual home at Cornell, while her Thanksgiving parties helped my family feel at home in Ithaca.”
David Field, professor of psychology (A&S), said Finlay helped bind the psychology department together and offered advice on everything from life as a new faculty member to guidance on obtaining National Institutes of Health grants.
“My second year at Cornell, she let me create my own small symposia where I was allowed to invite in 10 of the top people in my field – and they all accepted. It was quite an amazing experience for an assistant professor,” he said. “One of my favorites was the ‘Big Brain’ symposium where we brought in the leaders of the field studying how large brains developed and evolved. Not only was this wonderful for early-career faculty like me, but I think it created a unique environment for the graduate student and postdocs who could see that Cornell was a very special place.”
Michael Spivey said Finlay was an important mentor and nurturer during the early stages of his career. Now a professor of cognitive science at the University of California, Merced, Spivey was a Cornell faculty member in the psychology department from 1996-2008.
“Barb Finlay left parts of herself in so very many academics throughout the world. Her research impact, her intellectual style and her unique charisma are infused (directly and indirectly) in thousands of people,” Spivey said. “As a result, she made the world a better place. She was a true friend, a consummate scholar, a voracious reader, and her harrowing trips to Brazil to collect the brains of rodents of unusual size made her the Indiana Jones of neuroscience.”
Finlay was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Association for Psychological Science and established the Larry Taylor Lecture series. She retired in 2016.
“Barb launched my whole research/medical career, taking me under her wing as a research assistant when I was a sophomore at Cornell,” said Dr. Alan D. Workman, assistant professor, Rhinology & Skull Base Surgery, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School. “I spent three years, and every summer, working in her lab. She was one of the most brilliant individuals I have met in my life. She was generous with her time, she was thoughtful, and she was a true mentor. I wouldn't be where I am today without her guidance.”
Finlay is survived by her daughter, Laura; Laura’s wife, Casey; and their son Vaughn; as well as her son, Will; and his wife, Heather.
“We knew our mother was an absolute force in her field who was well-respected by her colleagues, but we also knew her at home as a playful and loving parent. She often brought us along on various academic adventures, from the Australian outback to the Amazon river,” said her daughter Laura Vineyard. “For her, there was never a line between work and family; she was the same curious, generous person in the field as she was at our kitchen table. She leaves behind a global network of friends and collaborators. As her kids, we always knew that she delighted in our lives, and she will be terribly missed.”
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Wikipedia or the Finger Lakes Independence Center. A festschrift symposium for Finlay is being planned for the spring.
Read the story in the Cornell Chronicle.
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