Conferring of Doctor's Degrees 2009

Solemn conferment of doctoral degrees at Hanken on October 30th 2009

Hanken School of Economics held a solemn doctoral conferment ceremony on Friday the 30th of October 2009. The ceremony was  in the school’s main building in Helsinki, Arkadiankatu 22. An evening of dinner and dance at restaurant Börs (Fabianinkatu 14) concluded the ceremony.

The ceremonial tradition dates from the Middle Ages. The first conferment ceremony in Finland took place in 1643 at the former Åbo Akademi University. Until the mid 1990’s the titles of master as well as doctor were awarded as part of the ceremony. Now the titles are included in the degrees. Academic insignia, such as master's rings and doctor’s hats as well as swords are, however, still distributed at conferment ceremonies only and are only to be carried by those who have obtained adoctorate.

For Hanken School of Economics this will be the 10th conferment ceremony. This year’s ceremony coincides with the school’s centenary. Hanken’s predecessor, Högre Svenska Handelsläroverket, was founded in 1909. In 1927 the school’s department of higher education was transformed into a separate school. The bachelor’s degree in science (econ. & bus. adm.) was introduced at the school in 1928 and in 1944 the school obtained the right to grant the doctoral degree.
The first conferment ceremony at Hanken School of Economics took place in 1953 in connection with the inauguration of the building at Arkadiankatu 22. During the ceremony of ’53 the school’s first doctoral degree was conferred on Axel Grandell, and 71 master’s degrees were conferred as well as five honorary doctorates. Since then the school has conferred another 119 doctoral degrees, 110 master’s degrees and 34 honorary doctorates. The tradition of arranging conferment ceremonies for doctoral degrees only was established after the school was nationalized in the 1970’s. This year the number of doctoral degrees conferred will amount to nearly 70.

Conferment of Ten Honorary Doctoral Degrees at Hanken

In honour of the school's centenary, Hanken School of Economics will confer a larger number of honorary doctoral degrees than usual. A total of ten honorary doctoral degrees will be conferred at the ceremony.

Professor, Joan Acker, University of Oregon, USA
Professor Bo Edvardsson, Karlstad University Business School
Professor Gregory Koutmos, Fairfield University, USA
Professor Jörgen Weibull, Stockholm School of Economics
Kauppaneuvos (Finnish honorary title), CEO Magnus Bargum
Vuorineuvos (Finnish honorary title) Göran Ehrnrooth
Governor of the Bank of Sweden Stefan Ingves
Supreme Court President Pauliine Koskelo
Board Chairman Anders Wall
Board Chairman Jacob Wallenberg