Dr. Aino Sallinen, a finnországi Jyväskylä-i Egyetem rektorának díszdoktori avatása a Debreceni Egyetemen 2009. november 28.
Aino Sallinen’s main field of research is Finnish speech and communication culture. In 1985, she was appointed to the first professorship in communication studies in Finland. In the history of Nordic countries, she was the second woman to become a university rector. She has been the rector of the University of Jyväskylä since 1992. During her 17 years of office, Rector Aino Sallinen has been instrumental in turning the University of Jyväskylä into an internationally acknowledged institution with respect to the remarkably high quality of education and research. The university is involved in approximately 350 exchange programmes.
Professor Sallinen has held several significant positions in public life. For instance, she is one of the founding board members of FinnAgora, the Finnish centre for culture, science and economy based in Budapest. In appreciation of her merits, she has been awarded the chancellorship of the Order of the White Rose and that of the Order of the Lion of Finland.
Aino Sallinen has always been an outstanding supporter of Hungarian Studies and Hungarian culture. Thanks to her efforts, a professorship in Hungarian Studies and a position of Hungarian visiting professor at the University of Jyväskylä were established. The Department of Hungarian Studies in Jyväskylä has been among the top leading international institutions in the field since its establishment in 1989. Several scholars from the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Debrecen have significantly contributed to the foundation and operation of this department. It was the result of Professor Sallinen’s personal initiative that the highly popular bilateral student exchange programme between our universities was launched in 1994. The fruitful relationship between the twin cities of Jyväskylä and Debrecen has been enriched by twenty years of scientific and educational cooperation between the two universities.