
Relive Graduation Day 2023 at Finlandia University | Photo Gallery & Livestreams
Finlandia University held its final Spring Commencement Ceremony on Sunday, May 7, honoring 92 graduates in the Class of 2023. Following commencement, a commendation service was held for Finlandia University students, staff, faculty, alumni, neighbors and friends, commending the University and its 126 years of service.
Full High-Res Photos from Spring 2023 Commencement: On-Demand Livestream of Spring 2023 Commencement: Full High-Res Photos from Service of Commendation:Finlandia honors legacy, Class of 2023 with final commencement and commendation ceremonies
Founded in 1896 as Suomi College, Finlandia University held its final spring commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 7, honoring 92 graduates in the Class of 2023. In March, the University announced the decision to dissolve the institution and not enroll students for the 2023-2024 academic year.
President Timothy Pinnow congratulates student at FinnU’s Spring 2023 Commencement Ceremony.
Delivering the welcome address was Board Trustee Stephen Nikander, whose great-grandfather founded the institution and whose grandfather served [...]

Finlandia announces 125th Anniversary celebrations
HANCOCK, MI – On September 8, 1896, hardy and hard-working Finnish Lutheran immigrants gathered to worship at the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hancock, Michigan to officially dedicate a school in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula: the Suomi College and Theological Seminary. J.K. Nikander, president of the Suomi Synod and the college’s first president, preached from the book of Proverbs 8:1, “Does not wisdom cry out, and does not understanding lift up her voice?”
Founded in the late 19th century, Suomi College prepared [...]

Stephen Nikander Continues Family Legacy
Decades of experience in finance and more than a century of family heritage to be assets to Finlandia
There was a buzz around campus in the summer of 2017 when one day, seemingly out of the blue, a person with a familiar name walked into North Wind Books. The staff at the bookstore couldn’t help but ask all kinds of questions. That’s when they discovered that Stephen Nikander is the great grandson of Juho K. (J.K.) Nikander, [...]