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Former name | The Suomi College and Theological Seminary (1896–2000) |
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Motto | Dominus Illuminatio Mea |
Motto in English | The Lord is my Light |
Type | Private |
Active | September 8, 1896 –May 7, 2023 |
Accreditation | Higher Learning Commission |
Religious affiliation | Evangelical Lutheran Church |
Endowment | US$5,786,875 (2020) [1] |
Budget | US$13,106,234 (2020) [1] |
President | Timothy Pinnow [2] |
Students | 430 (fall 2021) [3] |
Address | 601 Quincy St. , , 49930 , U.S. 47°07′39″N88°35′22″W / 47.1276°N 88.5894°W |
Campus | Rural, 24 acres (9.7 ha) |
Avg. class size | 11 [4] |
Colors | Blue, gray and white [5] |
Nickname | Lions |
Sporting affiliations | C2C Conference (NCAA D-III) |
Mascot | Riku F. Lion |
Website | www |
Finlandia University was a private Lutheran university in Hancock, Michigan. It was the only private university in the Upper Peninsula. Founded in 1896 as The Suomi College and Theological Seminary, it was affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. [6] [7] The university closed after the spring semester of 2023 due to enrollment and financial challenges. [8]
Finlandia University was founded as Suomi College on September 8, 1896, by J. K. Nikander (b. 1855, Hämeenlinna, Finland, d. 1919). [7] [9] During the 1880s, large numbers of Finns immigrated to Hancock, Michigan to labor in the copper and lumber industries. As a mission pastor of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America headquartered in Hancock, Nikander observed that Swedish and Finnish immigrants along the Delaware River did not train new ministers, and he feared a loss of Finnish identity. The college's role was to preserve Finnish culture, train Lutheran ministers and teach English. During the 1920s, Suomi College became a liberal arts college and in 1958, the seminary separated from the college. On July 1, 2000, Suomi College changed its name to Finlandia University. [9] [10]
The cornerstone of Old Main, the first building erected at Suomi College, was laid on May 30, 1898. Jacobsville sandstone, quarried at the Portage Entry of the Keweenaw waterway, was brought by barge, cut, and used to construct the Old Main. Dedicated on January 21, 1900, it contained a dormitory, kitchen, laundry, classrooms, offices, library, chapel, and lounge. A marker designating the college and its Old Main building as Michigan Historic Sites was erected by the Michigan Historical Commission in 1991. [11]
The burgeoning college quickly outgrew this building. In 1901 a frame structure, housing a gym, meeting hall, and music center, was erected on an adjacent lot. The frame building was demolished when Nikander Hall, named for Suomi's founder, was constructed in 1939. The hall was designed by the architectural firm of Eliel Saarinen and J. Robert F. Swanson. In addition to Old Main, the present day main campus consists of Nikander Hall, Mannerheim Hall, Wargelin Hall, Finlandia Hall, the Paavo Nurmi Center for Physical Education, the Kivi House, Hoover Center, the Finnish American Heritage Center, the Chapel of St. Matthew, and the Jutila Center.
Finlandia University was affiliated with the Lutheran church since its inception and in 1988, became affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The curriculum, campus events, and the community explored the value of faith, vocation, and service. Finlandia University was accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association for Colleges and Schools. In 1996, the university transitioned from a two-year college to a four-year university. [10] Starting with the 2020–21 academic year, Finlandia's admissions policy contained no requirements for SAT or ACT scores, only requiring a secondary school transcript. [12]
On October 6, 2021, the 16th president, Rev. Dr. Philip R. Johnson, announced he intended to retire at the end of the 2021–22 academic year. [13]
On May 4, 2022, Finlandia announced Timothy Pinnow would become the next president effective July 1, 2022. [14] On March 2, 2023, Timothy Pinnow announced that Finlandia University would close after the spring 2023 semester. Pinnow cited a lack of interest in enrollment and the debt load of the university as factors in shutting down operations.
The university's board of trustees voted on March 14, 2023, to officially dissolve the university. Finlandia also announced that some staff had been laid off to free up funding for operations related to student transfers. They also announced that all other staff would be laid off following commencement. [15]
The university set up agreements for students to finish their education at Michigan Technological University, Bay de Noc Community College, Adrian College, Wartburg College, Northern Michigan University and a few other colleges. [8]
Finlandia University's campus was located in Hancock, Michigan, on the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The Keweenaw Peninsula stretches north into Lake Superior.
Also part of Finlandia University, and serving both the campus and the community, was the Finnish American Heritage Center which hosted numerous university and community events and housed a museum, art gallery, and theater. The Finnish American Historical Archives were located here.[ timeframe? ]
Finlandia's most popular undergraduate majors, by 2021 graduates, were: Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse (7), Small Business Administration/Management (5), Criminal Justice/Police Science (5), Business Administration, Management and Operations (4), and Psychology (4). [16]
There were 12 NCAA Division III athletic sports at Finlandia, whose teams were known as Lions, competing primarily as a member of the Coast to Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) since 2020. [17] Women's athletics included: basketball, cross country, ice hockey, soccer, softball and volleyball. Men's athletics included baseball, basketball, cross country, football, ice hockey and soccer. Co-ed Esports were added as varsity-level sports in the 2020–2021 season. [18]
Finlandia University's football team played its first season in the Fall of 2015. From 2015-2017, they played football in Division III as an independent. For the 2018 and 2019 seasons, Finlandia competed in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. After they did not play during the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they joined the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Over seven seasons, the team compiled a 5-56 record, scoring 575 points and having 2,711 points scored against for an average of 45 points per game. [19] [20]
Finlandia introduced Esports in the Fall of 2020 to be run under the direction of Finlandia's Athletic Department. The school's first season included nine games: Overwatch , Call of Duty , Fortnite , FIFA , Madden NFL , Super Smash Brothers , League of Legends , Hearthstone , and Rocket League . The team competed in the Eastern College Athletic Conference and played their games at Hirvonen Hall from 2022-2023. [21] [22] [23]
Notable alumni of Finlandia University include:
The Upper Peninsulaof Michigan—also known as Upper Michigan or colloquially the U.P.—is the northern and more elevated of the two major landmasses that make up the U.S. state of Michigan; it is separated from the Lower Peninsula by the Straits of Mackinac. It is bounded primarily by Lake Superior to the north, separated from the Canadian province of Ontario at the east end by the St. Marys River, and flanked by Lake Huron and Lake Michigan along much of its south. Although the peninsula extends as a geographic feature into the state of Wisconsin, the state boundary follows the Montreal and Menominee rivers and a line connecting them.
Michigan Technological University is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, United States, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Houghton is the largest city and county seat of Houghton County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located on the Keweenaw Peninsula, Houghton is the largest city in the Copper Country region. It is the fifth-largest city in the Upper Peninsula, with a population of 8,386 at the 2020 census. Houghton is the principal city of the Houghton micropolitan area, which includes all of Houghton and Keweenaw counties. Houghton lies upon the Keweenaw Waterway, a partly natural, partly artificial waterway connecting at both ends to Lake Superior. Across the waterway from Houghton lies the city of Hancock.
Copper Island is a local name given to the northern part of the Keweenaw Peninsula, separated from the rest of the Keweenaw Peninsula by Portage Lake and the Keweenaw Waterway.
Hancock is a city in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population of Hancock was 4,501 at the 2020 census. The city is located within Houghton County, and is situated upon the Keweenaw Waterway, a channel of Lake Superior that cuts across the Keweenaw Peninsula. Hancock is located across the Keweenaw Waterway from the city of Houghton, and is connected to that city by the Portage Lake Lift Bridge. The city is located within Michigan's Copper Country region.
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Houghton County is a county in the Upper Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,361. The county seat and largest city is Houghton. Both the county and the city were named for Michigan State geologist and Detroit Mayor Douglass Houghton.
Calumet is a village in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The village is located within Calumet Township, Houghton County, and had a population of 621 at the 2020 census.
The Keweenaw Peninsula is a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. Part of the greater landmass of the Upper Peninsula, the Keweenaw Peninsula projects about 65 miles (105 km) northeasterly into Lake Superior, forming Keweenaw Bay. The peninsula is part of Michigan's Copper Country region, as the region was home to the first major copper mining boom in the United States. Copper mining was active in this region from the 1840s to the 1960s.
The Copper Country is an area in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the United States, including Keweenaw County, Michigan, Houghton, Baraga and Ontonagon counties as well as part of Marquette County. The area is so named as copper mining was prevalent there from 1845 until the late 1960s, with one mine continuing through 1995. In its heyday in the latter half of the 19th century and the early 20th century, the area was the world's greatest producer of copper.
The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) is an intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III since the 2008–09 season. Corey Borchardt is the current commissioner of the UMAC, and was appointed to the position in 2008. The UMAC was started in 1972 as the Twin Rivers Conference, and assumed its current name in 1983. Member institutions are located in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Finnish Americans comprise Americans with ancestral roots in Finland, or Finnish people who immigrated to and reside in the United States. The Finnish-American population is around 650,000. Many Finnish people historically immigrated to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and the Iron Range of northern Minnesota to work in the mining industry; much of the population in these regions is of Finnish descent.
Davenport University is a private university with campuses throughout Michigan and online. It was founded in 1866 by Conrad Swensburg and currently offers associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees; diplomas; and post-grad certification programs in business, technology, health professions, and graduate studies (MBA).
The Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America was a Lutheran church body which existed in the United States from 1890 until 1962.
Keweenaw National Historical Park is a unit of the U.S. National Park Service. Established in 1992, the park celebrates the life and history of the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a federal-local cooperative park made up of two primary units, the Calumet Unit and the Quincy Unit, and almost two dozen cooperating "Heritage Sites" located on federal, state, and privately owned land in and around the Keweenaw Peninsula. The National Park Service owns approximately 1,700 acres (690 ha) in the Calumet and Quincy Units. Units are located in Baraga, Houghton, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon counties.
The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (LSTC) is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Chicago, Illinois. LSTC is a member of the Association of Chicago Theological Schools (ACTS), a consortium of eleven area seminaries and theological schools. It shares the JKM Library and portions of its campus with McCormick Theological Seminary. LSTC is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools and regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
FinnFest USA is an annual festival, typically held in the summer, in locations throughout the United States of America. Aiming to celebrate Finland, Finnish America, and Finnish culture, the festival is organized by a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a national office maintained by its president, located presently in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Old Main, is a former educational building located on Quincy Street on the former Finlandia University campus in Hancock, Michigan. It was also known as the Suomi College Building. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1959 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
Toivola is an unincorporated community in Houghton County, Michigan, United States. The far-flung rural community is divided between Stanton Township, Adams Township, and Bohemia Township. It is found along M-26, 8 miles (13 km) southwest of South Range, 16 miles (25.7 km) from Houghton, and 35 miles (56 km) from Ontonagon. Toivola has a post office with ZIP code 49965. The community's historic industries include mainly agrarian uses and lumbering.
Trent Daavettila is an American former professional ice hockey player who last played for and served as Captain for the Colorado Eagles of the ECHL. After beginning his college hockey career with Finlandia University, he transferred to Michigan Technological University, but failed to gain a place on their team. He remained at Michigan Tech and played for an upper-level men's amateur team while earning a civil engineering degree. Daavettila tried out for numerous minor league hockey teams after graduating from college, but was not accepted by any. Months later, however, he was signed to a professional tryout contract by the Kalamazoo Wings. Daavettila remained with the team, and two seasons later he tied for the team scoring lead and was named a second-team all-star by the ECHL. Through the 2012–13 season, he has also played in 19 American Hockey League games.
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