Dr. Michael Finnegan is a Professor of Anthropology at Kansas State University and a consultant in Forensic Anthropology. He holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Colorado and held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution, studying paleopathology and non-metric variation for population studies and forensic science application. He is a Fellow and past Vice President of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences; a Diplomate, and past President, of the American Board of Forensic Anthropology, Inc.; and is a recipient of the "Kansas Attorney General's Certificate of Merit" in recognition of outstanding service rendered to law enforcement in and for the State of Kansas by a private citizen. He has published numerous articles on theory, method and application of osteological analysis in population studies and forensic applications. He has conducted research in Africa, Australia, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe, as well as various areas of North and South America. Dr. Finnegan is a recipient of the "William L. Stamey Teaching Award" in undergraduate instruction, the "John C. Hazelet Award" as the outstanding member of the Kansas Division of the International Association for Identification, the "Bartucz Lajos Award" from Jozsef Attila University and the "T. Dale Stewart Award" from the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Dr. Finnegan has been a member of the KDIAI since 1979, holding Member Number 88. Dr. Finnegan has held various positions on the KDIAI Board over the years, and has contributed greatly to the many training and conferences the KDIAI has held by giving lectures and presentations on forensic anthropology. He has also had several articles published in The Prairie Whorlwind. Dr. Finnegan currently serves as the chair of the Dr. Michael Finnegan Scholarship Committee.