The Finn who leads Columbus received an honor from the University of Tampere in August.
NHL boss Jarmo Kekäläinen was inaugurated on August 13, 2022 as an honorary doctor of the University of Tampere in the first doctoral promotion of the new university. The rank of honorary doctorate is the highest recognition that the university can award.
The new interdisciplinary University of Tampere was born at the beginning of 2019 when the Tampere University of Technology and the former University of Tampere merged.
In the first doctoral promotion, the university invited 14 people from Finland and abroad as honorary doctors based on their achievements in the fields represented by the university or other outstanding scientific, artistic or social merits.
– In the new university’s first promotion, there was also an emphasis on working at the boundaries of disciplines, says the professor Minna Kellomäki.
– Jarmo Kekäläinen was awarded an honorary doctorate in recognition of his merits in international elite sports management. Kekäläinen has a master’s degree in economics and works as the General Manager of the NHL club Columbus Blue Jackets. He is the first European CEO of a club in one of the world’s toughest sports management organizations, the North American NHL, continues Kellomäki, who works at the University of Tampere.
The recognition Kekäläinen received is a significant tribute to Finnish sports, and it is probably the first time that an honorary doctorate in sports management has been awarded by someone other than the Faculty of Sports Science of the University of Jyväskylä.
– The overriding feeling was probably gratitude. I have come quite a long way in hockey, including in management positions for 27 years. The talent scout’s work and managing its organization was sometimes a lonely grind. Long journeys by car and plane and a lot away from home, so the recognition for the work done in the management of top international sports came to me from a party that I value very highly, says Kekäläinen.
He goes on to say that team sports are a roller coaster ride. Sometimes we go too high and at the bottom the rear hits the ground and mud flies.
– That’s why the attention from the academic side was something permanent, for which I will be grateful for the rest of my life.
Ana Claudia AriasProfessor of Electrical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, USA
Ban Ki-moonChairman of the Ban Ki-Moon Foundation, Secretary-General of the United Nations 2007-2016
Chun Wei ChooProfessor, Faculty of Information Sciences, University of Toronto, Canada
Bernard CovaSenior Professor of Marketing, Kedge School of Economics, France
Klaske HavikProfessor of Analytical and Creative Methods, Faculty of Architecture and Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands
Rauno Ihalainendirector of the Pirkanmaa hospital district 1995–2019
Timothy IngoldEmeritus Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Aberdeen, UK
Elina Knihtiläactor, acting professor, University of the Arts Theater College
Risto Käkeläindustrial consultant, founder of Avant Tecno Oy
Mari Pantsardirector, sustainability solutions, from Sitra
Ann PhoenixProfessor of Psychosocial Research, Department of Education, University College London, UK
Kimmo Pietiläinennonfiction writer, nonfiction translator and publisher, founder of Terra Cognita Oy
EMJ (Sabeth) VerpoorteProfessor, Institute of Pharmacy Research, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
Kekäläinen is also happy for the entire sports community, because sports work is not always appreciated enough.
– You often hear disparaging comments about being in sports work and sports management. Sometimes my mother has even been told that because your son will go to real jobs. Yes, this really works! This is more than a job, this is a way of life when you go into it with all your heart, Kekäläinen states.
Professor of administrative science at the University of Tampere and this year elected professor of the year in Finland Jari Stenvall says that Jarmo Kekäläinen is a successful choice from the university.
– In my opinion, the recognition Kekäläinen received is an excellent example of the fact that in the field of exercise and sports it is possible to do significant work for society in the same way as, for example, culture or science. The recognition came to a management expert who has a versatile career in sports. Hopefully this will also help you see the wide career opportunities offered by exercise and sports.
Finns who have received honorary doctorates from the Faculty of Sports Science at the University of Jyväskylä include, among others, Urho Kekkonen, Kaarina Kari and Tahko Pihkala (1969), Martti J. Karvonen, Kalevi Kivistö, Väinö Lahtinen, Helge Nygrén, Liisa Orko, Heikki Savolainen and Jukka Uunila (1982), Jaakko Lovén (1996), Roger Talermo (2009), Sauli Niinistö (2016) and Lauri Tarasti (2019).
In May 2023 in Jyväskylä, professor emerita Marja Jylhä, Jyväskylä city manager Timo Koivisto and head coach of the men’s national ice hockey team Jukka Jalonen will be inaugurated as honorary doctors.