HANCOCK, MI – Four informal informational symposia are part of a full day celebration Thursday, September 20, 2007, marking the inauguration and installation of Finlandia University President Philip Johnson.

At 9:00 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 offered on Finnish collection books and Finnish functional design items.

At 10:00 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, and especially its annual service learning trip to Tanzania, West Africa, is the subject of a symposium at the Chapel of St. Matthew at 11:00 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 1:00 p.m. in Wareglin Hall, Room 303, Finlandia Nursing program students will present a report of their May 2007 study abroad trip to Finland.
Events throughout the day also include open classroom visits, student-led campus tours, and other opportunities to learn more about Finlandia, its degrees and programs. All are welcome. Visitors are invited to begin their Sept. 20 campus visit at the Hoover Center where they can collect a schedule of the day’s events and a campus map, and chat with university students and staff.

A formal inaugural and installation ceremony for President Johnson begins at 3:00 p.m. at the university’s Paavo Nurmi Center, followed at 4:15 p.m. by a reception at Finlandia Hall.

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