Impactful, fun-loving admission leader

Dean of Admission Emeritus Deren Finks, who admitted hundreds of students during his 17-year tenure at Harvey Mudd College, passed away April 18, 2023.

Finks joined the College’s new admission office in 1988 under then admission director Duncan Murdoch. During his time at the College, he worked with the admission team to help shape the Harvey Mudd community, eventually taking the lead as vice president and dean of admission and financial aid. On the citation of the College’s Henry T. Mudd Prize, awarded in 2002, Finks was lauded for having been “directly involved with every Mudd student for the last 14 years …. [for having] done more than any other single individual to maintain and improve the already high standards of admission to the College.” Finks was also heralded for helping improve the gender, racial and ethnic diversity of the Mudd student body.

Finks quickly grew into many leadership roles in the Western Association for College Admission Counseling (WACAC) and the College Board Western Regional Admission and Guidance Committee. He was a faculty member for the western region “rookie camp” and helped train and mentor a generation of new admission counselors. He was also a faculty member of the College Board Admission Summer Institute and the National Association for College Admission Counseling Admission Middle Management Institute as a well as a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling Nomination Committee. WACAC honored Murdoch and Finks with the Murdoch/Finks New Admissions Counselor Award to recognize college-level admission officers for service, volunteerism and dedication to students. Finks received the organization’s Joseph P. Allen Human Relations Award in 2005.

After serving the College for 17 years, Finks decided to take a leave to devote more time to improving his health. At that time, then-President Jon Strauss said, “This is not a matter to be taken lightly as Deren has literally been ‘Mr. Harvey Mudd College’ to several generations of Mudd students, to say nothing of faculty, staff and trustees.”

After Harvey Mudd, Finks continued to pursue his passion for supporting students and their families to progress through the college application process and achieve their educational goals. He was a director of college counseling at prestigious institutions—Cranbrook Schools, Kiskiminetas Springs School, St. Mark’s School and Kiski—was an executive board member of the Western Association of College Admission Counseling and was dean of faculty emeritus at the College Board Summer Institute on College Admission and School Relations. He was a consultant to numerous prestigious undergraduate and graduate admission offices and most recently worked as an independent college counselor for individual families.

Finks received a B.A. in 1984 in education/English from the University of La Verne, where, upon graduating, he began his career in admission as an assistant director.

Finks’ enthusiasm for sharing his knowledge was a powerful motivator throughout his career. His love of empowering young people with the knowledge needed to pursue a higher education was transforming for many. In an October 2022 interview with Nick Standlea of Test Prep Gurus, Finks said, “Education doesn’t pay as well as, say, careers in STEM. Nevertheless, I would not change the career that I have chosen for five times the pay.”

The following statement, included on Finks’ Mudd Prize, is how he will be remembered by many: “A man of integrity, caring, dedication, collegiality, loyalty and intelligence.”

View Deren Fink’s interview with Test Prep Gurus, Oct 2022, in which he gives detailed, personal advice about the college admission process.

View a video recording of the memorial service for Deren Finks, held on Sunday, June 4, 2023 at Galileo Auditorium on Harvey Mudd College Campus in Claremont, California.

View a slide show of photos of Deren Finks shown at his memorial service.