There once was a man from the Valley...
Allen was born and grew up in Johnson City TN, which sits in the Great Valley of Tennessee (hence the title, haha). He graduated from East Tennessee State University (GO BUCS!!) with a BS in Geography and a minor in Computer Science. Following ETSU, Allen attended the University of Cincinnati (GO BEARCATS!!) where he received an MA in Geography with a minor in Urban Planning. In 1981 he took a position with Great American Insurance Companies as a Programmer/Analyst, and proceeded to have a 12 year career in data processing that included stints at Appalachian National Life Insurance the The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (GO BIG ORANGE!!). While employed at UTK, Allen began work on a PhD in Higher Education Administration. Additionally, beginning in 1988 Allen taught courses at UTK for the Department of Geography and the Graduate School of Planning until he moved to Oklahoma. In 1990 he elected to also complete all the course work and exams for a PhD in Geography, and completed a dissertation that included both Administrative and Geographic issues and conceptual underpinnings.
In 1996 Allen began his academic career at Oklahoma State University as an Assistant Professor, and he remained in the Department of Geography for 26 years until his retirement in September 2022. His teaching experiences were in Urban Geography and Planning, Economic Geography, Geographic Information Systems, and GIS Programming. He was also responsible for the tech labs in the Department of Geography at OSU. While Allen has retired from Oklahoma State and is now an Emeritus faculty member, he will always be proud of his time and work there —- GO POKES!!
In the mid-1980s Allen purchased a Mac SE and an IBM PC Model 10 thru his job at UTK. He chose to purchase both over about a two year period after working with an original Apple Lisa and an IBM PC in his work. Since that time he has used and/or purchased machines from Gateway, Dell, Asus, and Apple.
In 2001 Allen purchased his first PDA (a Handspring) followed by a Palm Treo 600 and then a Treo 680. After the Treos, Allen purchased an iPhone on launch day in 2007, and in 2010 he purchased both an iPad and an Android Phone (HTC Aria). Since that time he has owned numerous Android smartphones and iPhones and has developed a great interest in their usage and in programming mobile devices.
Currently Allen owns an iPhone 14 Pro Max (his daily phone), an 11 inch iPad Pro, a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, an M1 Max MacBook Pro 14”, an M2 MacBook Air, and an Apple Watch Ultra. He spends time using all of these as well as working on development ideas for each device that could prove useful in his future endeavors or as a possible useful application.
On a more personal note, Dr. Finchum and his wife, Tanya (a Librarian and Oral Historian at OSU), have been married since Saturday 23 August 1980. Tanya completed her PhD in Family Studies at OSU in August 2003. Their son, Curtis, graduated from Oilton High School, where he was a co-captain of the basketball team as a senior and was also a member of the baseball team. Curtis graduated from OSU in December 2015 with a degree in English and Education. Before transferring to OSU, Curtis attended Oklahoma Christian University where he was a member of the Eagle basketball program. Curtis is currently an English Teacher and Head Girls Basketball Coach at Western Heights High School in Oklahoma City, OK. Curtis and his wife Olivia have two children — and they live in Oklahoma City.
Allen enjoys movies, particularly action/adventure, suspense, and comedy pictures; traveling in the US; classic 1970s rock and modern jazz music; occasionally playing golf; and attending sporting events - primarily those at OSU or games coached by his son.
Last Updated: 20 Dec 2022
In my old office at OSU - roughly 2016/17.