
page 16 3 Rockland Opera Premieres in Finland and U.S. Presidentģ a l u m n i n e w s page 5 The Green Map System is an internationally-shared visual language for mapmakers. It marks our lives here at Finlandia today. Adaptation marked the lives of the early immigrants. In these pages you will find new imaginings of older ideas, fresh innovations grown from established applications, and new variations on familiar themes. As you read this issue of the Bridge, you will learn how Finlandia is building upon, around, and beyond that substantial foundation. The Lutheran Finns that came to this small corner of the world so many years ago left a very large thumbprint indeed.

At the same time, we are casting new molds as we encourage emerging relationships, maximize more recent strategic successes, and reinforce new-found strengths.

Finlandia University continues to respect and build upon what has brought us this far: historic relationships, enduring successes, and proven strengths. The 21st century world of higher education in which we now live demands a corresponding degree of innovation and adaptation. They built upon them and they built beyond them. They did not abandon their old-world designs or ways of thinking. The new lives of our forebears were forged by stubborn, tireless adaptability. This change of context called for new and modified applications of old skills and techniques, and demanded fresh perspectives on former patterns of thought. The North American environment presented early Finnish Americans with similar, but not identical, challenges to those left behind in Finland. The emerging New World techniques and the resultant structures were and at the same time, were not Finnish. Alanen, I grew in my appreciation for the innovation and adaptation required of mid-to-late 19th century Finnish immigrants. Like all ethnic immigrant populations, Finns have created an enduring and distinctive cultural landscape on this continent. Construction techniques and materials, homestead configurations, house, barn, and church designs and, of course, the ever-present sauna building have clearly left a distinctive thumbprint on our land. The images he has gathered poignantly capture the altered rural landscapes that reveal the presence of Finnish American immigrants throughout the U.S. Alanen has produced a powerful and far-reaching work on Finnish America through an extraordinary array of photographs. Arne Alanen, the Finlandia Foundation Lecturer of the Year. 2 From the President P H I L I P J O H N S O N Recently, in collaboration with several local Finnish-American entities, Finlandia University hosted a program by Dr.
