University of Jyväskylä appoints deans for 2026–2029
The following professors have been appointed deans:
- Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Professor Mika Lähteenmäki
- Faculty of Information Technology, Professor Pasi Tyrväinen
- Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics, Professor Vilma Luoma-aho
- Faculty of Education and Psychology, Professor Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen
- Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, Professor Vesa Linnamo
- Faculty of Mathematics and Science, Professor Timo Sajavaara
“The dean is responsible for leading the faculty’s activities and ensuring its tasks are managed effectively, economically and efficiently,” says Rector Jari Ojala. “Deans play a key role in our university, creating opportunities that enable our community to flourish,” says Rector Jari Ojala. “They also have an important role in shaping the university’s future, while acting as a link between the faculties and the university, and serving as our visible representatives to society.”
“The University of Jyväskylä will have truly proficient, experienced and motivated deans to lead our faculties,” Ojala says. “By working together, we can develop the university into a strong, internationally attractive research university with a positive societal impact.”
Introduction of the deans
Mika Lähteenmäki, Professor of Russian Language and Culture at the University of Jyväskylä, will continue as Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Lähteenmäki has served as a professor of Russian language and culture since 2014, as a head of the Department of Language and Communication Studies from 2018 to 2023, and as the dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences since 2024.
Lähteenmäki has previously worked, among other things, as a senior researcher in the FiDiPro project at the Department of Languages at the University of Jyväskylä, which focused on multilingualism in Finland. He also served as a professor of Russian at the University of Joensuu from 2006 to 2008.
Lähteenmäki studied and completed his licentiate and doctoral degrees at the University of Jyväskylä. He is a docent (adjunct professor) in Russian at the University of Eastern Finland. Lähteenmäki holds several memberships in national and international expert, evaluation and steering groups. He is also a member of the board of the Finnish Union of University Professors and serves as the vice-chair of its Jyväskylä chapter.
Professor Pasi Tyrväinen will continue as Dean of the Faculty of Information Technology. Tyrväinen has served as a dean of the Faculty of Information Technology at the University of Jyväskylä since 2018 and has been in the University Management Team as well as in several strategic development groups. He has been a professor at the University of Jyväskylä since 2007 and a docent (adjunct professor) at the University of Oulu since 2010. In addition, he has held positions as vice dean, head of department, and director of the Agora Center. He also has industry experience at, for example, Honeywell and Nokia, where he has served as a head of development and a project manager.
Professor Tyrväinen’s research focuses on business interfaces and networks, particularly in the areas of smart city development and software business. He completed his PhD in information technology at the Helsinki University of Technology in 1994.
Professor of Corporate Communication Vilma Luoma-aho will take up the position of Dean of the Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics (JSBE). She has been a professor of organizational communication and public relations at the Faculty of Humanities since 2014 and a professor of corporate communication at JSBE since 2017. She has also served as a vice dean of JSBE from 2017 to 2025, and as an external member of the faculty councils of the Faculty of Information Technology and the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences. Luoma-aho has docentships (adjunct professorships) at the University of Helsinki, the University of Vaasa and the National Defence University.
Professor Luoma-aho received her doctorate in 2005 from the University of Jyväskylä and has served as a visiting scholar, among others, at the University of Southern California (USC), Stanford University and the United States Military Academy. Luoma-aho has experience in the management and governance of organisations and companies at both national and international levels, and ProCom appointed her as the communications professional of the year in 2014. Her research focuses on the positive and negative impacts of communication, artificial intelligence, and strategic corporate communication in new digital arenas. Luoma-aho has won several awards for her teaching and research work, and she also is a member of the advisory board of the National Defence University. The research projects led by Luoma-aho (e.g., SRC) focus on misinformation and communication hijacking, and she serves as the chair of the social sciences sub-committee of the Scientific Advisory Board for Defence (MATINE) under the Ministry of Defence.
Professor of Education Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen will start in the position of Dean of the Faculty of Education and Psychology. Lerkkanen has been a professor in the Faculty of Education since 2014 and later in the Faculty of Education and Psychology. Prior to that, she worked as a lecturer and senior researcher at the University of Jyväskylä, and as a professor at the University of Stavanger. Lerkkanen has served as a vice head responsible for research at the Teacher Training School for eight years, and she is the director of the EDUCA (Education for the Future) flagship consortium. Lerkkanen is a docent (adjunct professor) of educational psychology. She has extensive experience in national and international research and teaching activities and related cooperation networks and positions of trust. Her research focuses on interactive processes of learning and teaching in pre-primary education, primary education and home environment, especially on the development of reading and math skills and the importance of motivation and teaching quality factors in learning.
Professor in Sports Technology Vesa Linnamo will start as Dean of the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences. Linnamo has been involved in establishing, managing and developing the activities of the Vuokatti Sports Technology Unit since 2004. He has successfully taken responsibility for acquiring external competitive funding and managing the project portfolio in this role. Linnamo has participated in the development of dual career programme and collaboration with Kajaani University of Applied Sciences. He has strong national and international cooperation networks, also to the business world.
Professor Linnamo completed his doctorate in biomechanics at the University of Jyväskylä in 2002. His research focuses primarily on the biomechanics of sports, especially winter sports.
Professor of Physics Timo Sajavaara will start as Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Science. He has served as a professor from 2015 and as the head of the Department of Physics in 2020–2025, and he has had a long career in accelerator-based research and material physics. Sajavaara completed his doctorate at the University of Helsinki in 2002. Prior to his current position, he has served as a vice head of the department and a senior lecturer at the University of Jyväskylä, and as a researcher at the University of Leuven in Belgium.
Professor Sajavaara has been a central developer in the accelerator-based element analytics of thin films, and he has been responsible for the Jyväskylä Pelletron accelerator research programme. Sajavaara’s research team operates in both the Accelerator Laboratory and the Nanoscience Center. He has serves as the scientist-in-charge in several international (e.g., H2020 and Horizon Europe) and national (e.g., the Research Council of Finland and ERDF) research projects as well as in joint projects with Jamk University of Applied Sciences.
