The professorship of American Studies that Markku Henriksson held at the Renvall Institute, Faculty of Arts was named after the McDonnell Douglas aerospace company. The story behind the professorship is connected to the conditions of the sale of Hornet jets to Finland in the 1990s. The United States was required to purchase products from Finland as part of the deal.

“When desirable goods did not seem to be available, it was suggested that McDonnell Douglas establish a scholarship, a sort of expansion to the Fulbright Center. McDonnell Douglas contacted the Finnish Embassy in Washington, who then recommended the unit focusing on North American Studies at the Renvall Institute. When the donation was made, the representative of the company mentioned nothing of the jet deal and instead emphasised that it was based on the long collaboration between McDonnell Douglas and Finnair.”

The process was still ongoing when McDonnell Douglas was acquired by Boeing, and the acquisition also brought some additional drama to the donation negotiations. The deal was ultimately signed only a few hours before McDonnell Douglas and all its contracts ceased to exist. When the acquisition took place, Boeing agreed to honour all previous contracts by McDonnell Douglas and therefore it was not necessary to reopen the negotiations for the professorship.

Henriksson says that Boeing was interested in his work, but allowed the research to go on without interference. The professorship established at the University of Helsinki also deviated from other posts that were named after the aviation company.

“They left the expertise to us and only took care of the funding. As I understand it, it is the only professorship carrying the name of McDonnell Douglas that is not related to aviation or space technology.”