Finlandia to hold all-day Inaugural celebration Sept. 20

HANCOCK -- A full-day celebration marking the inauguration of Finlandia University President Philip Johnson, Ph.D., will take place Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007. The event will showcase the people, programs, heritage and vitality of Finlandia University as the school begins its 111th academic year. All are welcome.

Philip Johnson came to Finlandia University in January 2006. He served as campus pastor and associate dean of Finlandia’s Suomi College of Arts and Sciences.

President Johnson is a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) with 18 years of leadership experience in church-related contexts including congregational ministry, teaching and administration. He has lived and worked in the United States, Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia.*

A formal inaugural and installation ceremony for President Johnson begins at 3 p.m. at the University’s Paavo Nurmi Center, followed at 4:15 p.m. by a reception at Finlandia Hall.

Events throughout the day include informational symposia, open classroom visits, student-led campus tours and other opportunities to learn more about Finlandia, its degrees and programs.

At 9 a.m. at North Wind Books, visitors will learn about the Suomi College of Arts and Sciences Finnish Studies Program with Finnish instructor Anna Leppanen, Finnish Studies students and others. All day, the bookstore’s Finnish collection will be highlighted, and discounts will be offered on Finnish collection books and Finnish functional design items.

At 10 a.m. at Finlandia’s Portage Campus, students, faculty and staff will be on hand to tell visitors about the International School of Art and Design and the Jutila Center for Global Design and Business.

Finlandia’s Servant Leadership program -- especially its annual service learning trip to Tanzania -- is the subject of a symposium at the Chapel of St. Matthew at 11 a.m. Interim Campus Pastor René Johnson, along with many of the students who traveled to Tanzania this spring and in 2006, will be on hand to share photographs and engage in informal discussion.

At 1 p.m. in Wargelin Hall, Room 303, Finlandia Nursing program students will present a report of their May 2007 study abroad trip to Finland .

The celebration concludes with two evening events -- a Finnish film and a dance.

At 5:30 p.m. the Finnish film Mother of Mine will be shown at the Finnish American Heritage Center. The poignant film tells the story of one of the more than 70,000 Finnish children who were evacuated to neutral Sweden during World War II.

The fun reaches its zenith at 7:30 p.m. at the Paavo Nurmi Center with traditional Finnish dance music by the PasiCats and the unique Copper Country rock by Erik Koskinen. Admission is $5. Finlandia students are admitted free.

With the exception of the dance, all of the inaugural celebration activities are free. Finlandia University is in downtown Hancock, at 601 Quincy St. (U.S. Hwy. 41). For additional information please call the President’s Office at 906-487-7201 or visit the Finlandia Web site for the full schedule of events.

*For more about President Johnson, visit the Finlandia President's Page on their Web site.