Liisa Suvikumpu
Humanist of the day

Liisa Suvikumpu

As Managing Director of the Council of Finnish Foundations, Liisa Suvikumpu enjoys a panoramic view of society. She knows what can be achieved in the fields of science, art, culture and other areas of common good with the money distributed by foundations. She is proud of the University of Helsinki and hopes that people will remain the University’s most important resource in the future.

Liisa Suvikumpu

Liisa Maria Suvikumpu
Born April 12, 1975, Helsinki

Master of Arts 2000, Licentiate 2008, PhD 2009 (general history), University of Helsinki
Docent in European History 2010–, University of Helsinki
Eisenhower Fellow 2011, USA

Managing Director of the Council of Finnish Foundations 2013–
Commissioner, 2009–2013 WSOY Literature Foundation
Commissioner, 2009–2013 Institutum Romanum Finlandiae Foundation

Member of the Administrative Council of the Uusimaa Regional Fund of the Finnish Cultural Foundation 2010, and vice-chairman 2014–
Member of the Administrative Council of the Finnish National Theatre 2013–
Board member 2013–, Gummerus Publishers
Board member 2015–, Christine and Göran Schildt Foundation

Publications, research and other academic activity

Awards
Lauri Jäntti Prize 2015 for the book Suomalaiset kylpylät – Kotimaisen kylpyläkulttuurin historiaa (‘Finnish spas – the history of Finnish spa culture’) (Finnish Literature Society)

Finnish Art Society’s Literature Award 2012 for photo editing of the book Porrashuoneet (‘Stairwells’)

Winner of the prize Vuoden kristillinen kirja (‘Christian book of the year’) (together with Tuomas Heikkilä) 2009 for the work Pyhimyksiä ja paanukattoja (‘Saints and wood-shingle roofs’)

Photo: Annika Rauhala
Written by Riitta-Ilona Hurmerinta
Translated by Matthew Billington

Out of a love for Rome

About a dozen years ago Kronos ry, the association of history students, asked Liisa Suvikumpu and her husband, historian Tuomas Heikkilä, to lead a field trip abroad. The first trip already became a legend, and in the end they led a field trip to a European capital every spring for eight years.

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