Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Finlandia University’s campus is seen Friday, the day after the university’s board announced the institution would close at the end of the spring semester.

HANCOCK — Reactions to Finlandia University’s decision to close at the end of the academic year continued to come in Friday, while other universities continued to outline plans to accommodate current Finlandia students next year.

Finlandia announced its plans to close at the end of the semester Thursday. It had been a fixture of the Copper Country since its founding as Suomi College in 1896.

“The City of Hancock is deeply saddened by the closing of a historic entity, Finlandia University,” the city said in a statement Friday. “Taking care of the students, faculty and staff is by far the most important step in the process. We will be working with Finlandia University’s administration, board of trustees, and community partners on options for the campus in the heart of our City.”

Finlandia has been a hub for Finnish-American culture, hosting Finnish artists, scholars, businesspeople and diplomats. The university’s Finnish American Heritage Center is also recognized as a repository of genealogical and other cultural resources.

Jarmo Sareva, the Consul General of Finland in New York, said news of Finlandia’s closure has already been shared with a wide group of Finnish-American stakeholders, including the embassy, Finland’s ministry for foreign affairs, the national Finlandia Foundation and the Finnish Cultural Center in New York.

Given the reduced enrollment and the high debt load reported by the board, it appears to be too late to prevent the university from closing, he said. But there’s a high priority on preserving the heritage center and the Finnish-American Reporter, a monthly journal providing news for the Finnish-American community.

Sareva hopes the groups can map out options before summer to make that happen.

“I think what will need to happen, is all of us, all the stakeholders, to sit down together and start thinking through the options on how best to preserve the heritage center,” he said. “… Obviously it would be a cultural disaster for Finnish-American community all over the United States if the heritage center would not be preserved in some location, or in some form or another.”

At this point, it is too early to say whether the center would be kept in Hancock, or reopened someplace else, Sareva said.

Sareva had been looking forward to visiting the Upper Peninsula for the first time this summer. As the only university affiliated with the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church, it has a special place within the Finnish-American community, he said.

“It’s also helped foster education and awareness of Finland, Finnish culture and contemporary Finnish society in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan,” he said. “So it definitely has a very, very special place. That’s why the news is very heartbreaking.”

At the university’s North Wind bookstore, Melissa Niemi of Painesdale was shopping for Finlandia merchandise with her daughter, Elsa Niemi, 8. Melissa Niemi said she wanted to pick up some of her alma mater’s merchandise while she could.

“It’s kind of shocking,” said Niemi, who graduated in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in rural human services. “It’s an excellent school. I liked the smaller-size classrooms … I really enjoyed going to college there.”

In a joint statement Friday, State Sen. Ed McBroom and State Rep. Greg Markkanen expressed their sadness at the closing and directed students to available state resources.

“Finlandia University has been opening up new opportunities for students and helping improve lives in the Upper Peninsula for over a century — and it is truly sad to hear that their long legacy of contributions will be coming to an end,” said McBroom, R-Waucedah Township. “I feel for the many students and staff and their families, yet I am also encouraged by the support of many universities who have already stepped up to ensure the Finlandia students can finish their education.”

Markkanen and his wife, Jane, live in Hancock and both graduated from the school during the Suomi College days.

“I am shocked and deeply saddened that Finlandia University — the school I love and that played such an important part of my life and in shaping the person I have become — will no longer be helping foster the talents of future students,” said Markkanen, R-Hancock. “It is good to hear that current students will have opportunities to finish their education at other schools, but losing an over 120-years-old institution is a huge loss for our community and the entire Upper Peninsula.”

The lawmakers said there are state resources available for impacted students and staff, such as numerous links to support from job training to housing at the state’s Helping Hand site at www.michigan.gov/helpinghand.

People impacted by the closing can contact the lawmakers’ office at 517-373-7840 or SenEMcBroom@senate.michigan.gov for McBroom or 517-373-0850 or GregMarkkanen@house.mi.gov for Markkanen.

Finlandia has made teach-out arrangements with several other colleges and universities for students to continue their studies elsewhere.

Michigan Technological University and Northern Michigan University announced further details Friday.

Students with 60 or more credits will be eligible for a teach-out program through Michigan Tech. If students have 59 or fewer credits, they will have to apply as a transfer student, Tech said.

In both cases, the application process will be expedited. Financial aid will be available and decided on a case-by-case basis.

MTU listed degrees eligible for teach-out at mtu.edu/registrar/finlandia. The physical therapy assist program will only be eligible for transfer students.

Michigan Tech is in discussion about a program for nursing students, its website said. It previously offered a nursing program between 1973 and 1982.

At NMU, students enrolled at Finlandia for this school year will be offered guaranteed admission for 2023-24. They can enroll in NMU Summer 2023 and Fall 2023 courses beginning in late March and early April.

NMU will directly admit Finlandia students for those terms, as well as winter 2024.

They will receive NMU resident-equivalent tuition rates, which are lower than Finlandia’s published tuition rates, NMU said in a statement. NMU will also waive admission requirements and application fees for eligible students, and accept all successfully completed Finlandia credit.

NMU said it is able to work with all Finlandia students interested in the teach-out plan whether or not their program is offered at NMU.

More details are available at nmu.edu/admissions/finlandia.

“We understand that this teach-out will have a huge impact on Finlandia students, and we want the entire FinnU community to know that we are here to support them through this challenging transition,” Dale Kapla, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at Northern Michigan University, said in a statement. “All Finlandia students are welcome to speak with a counselor from our admissions office to learn more about programs and courses we offer here, and how that can fit into their current area of study. We want this guaranteed admissions process to be as easy as possible for the FinnU community and for FinnU students to know they’ll be welcomed if they decide to finish their studies at NMU.”