Piirto Named Commencement Speaker

Jane Piirto, a 1963 NMU alumna and professor at Ashland University, will be keynote speaker at the mid-year commencement ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 18, in the Superior Dome.

Piirto is one of only five Trustees’ Professors in the history of Ashland University. She teaches courses in the Ed. D. leadership program and is the director of talent development education.

Outside of Ashland University, Piirto serves as technical assistant for the Ohio Department of Education, division of special education, on research and development grants; grant evaluator for the U.S. Office of Education, Research and Improvement; overview advisory panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, arts in education division; arts in education panelist for the Ohio Arts Council; and panelist for the Ohio Department of Education, division of special education.

Piirto has written several books, including A Location in the Upper Peninsula: Collected Essays, Stories, Poems, which was funded by a grant from the Finlandia Foundation; Postcards from the Upper Peninsula; Silent Midnight Snow Falls Down; and Young Mather in Ishpeming. She has also written a number of short stories, many of which were featured in her books, as well as others such as Ode to the Dutch Bicycler, May, Pirangea Olivecea, The Raconteur, Savu Sauna, and Tango Finland.

The commencement ceremony begins at 10:30 a.m. It will be broadcast live on WNMU-TV.