Darrell F.X. Finnegan, S.J.

Darrell F.X. Finnegan, S.J., was a professor of education at Loyola University and LMU from 1949 to 1974. During his tenure, he served as chair of the Education Department and co-director of the Guidance Center and held visiting scholar positions in Japan and Europe. Following his graduation from Loyola High School in 1930, Father Finnegan entered the Society of Jesus at the Sacred Heart Novitiate in Los Gatos, Calif. He earned an bachelor's degree in philosophy and a master's degree in English from Gonzaga University. Father Finnegan then earned a Licentiate of Sacred Theology from Alma College (now the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, a graduate school of Santa Clara University), and a Ph.D. in Education from the Catholic University of America. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1944 and took final vows as a Jesuit in 1947. Prior to joining the faculty at Loyola University, Father Finnegan was a high school teacher at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, Calif., and a lecturer in the philosophy of education at Loyola College, Maryland (now Loyola University, Maryland).

Shortly after arriving at the University, Father Finnegan was instrumental in developing the University's graduate division at the Westchester campus and designing its programs in education. Additionally, he was a longtime Jesuit trustee of the University. Father Finnegan was widely published and active in several professional organizations. He served as president of the Far Western Philosophy of Education Society and was president and a board director of the California Council on the Education of Teachers. Father Finnegan also served on the board of the California State Central Coordinating Committee on Higher Education. Following his retirement from LMU, he served as a pastor at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Phoenix, Ariz. Father Finnegan passed away in 1981.