Experienced quartet to head the Faculty of Theology

Dean Petri Luomanen

began his term as Dean of the Faculty of Theology on 1 January 2026. His background is in research on the New Testament and related fields.

As Dean, Luomanen will oversee major financial and HR planning jointly with the Faculty Council, assume direct budgetary responsibility, and be accountable overall for the Faculty’s performance and effectiveness. In practice, he will spend much of his time in University- and Faculty-level committee and management group meetings.

Throughout his academic career, Luomanen has been committed to developing the University and Faculty in research, teaching and administration. Having served as Vice-Dean for Research from 2018 to 2021, the transition to the role of Dean felt like a natural step.

“Equality and justice, and making sure that everyone is heard on issues that concern them, are essential for a thriving, well-functioning and creative workplace. I try to do my part to support such a culture,” says Luomanen.

The Faculty’s vision for the future is shaped by the Teovisio 2035 document, finalised at the end of 2025. It highlights a number of roles in which graduates can use their skills to support the pursuit of meaning, facilitate interaction and foster community wellbeing.

"Reaching the vision’s goals will obviously also require critical analysis of the current situation, as well as research and researchers who tackle current issues, put forward critical and constructive alternatives, and are prepared to speak up for those unable to do so.”

Vice-Dean Mikko Ketola

Senior University Lecturer of Church History is the new Vice-Dean for Academic Affairs and the Dean’s first deputy. His research centres on the Catholic Church, the papacy and the history of antisemitism.

Ketola began his research career in 1991 and has since helped develop the Faculty’s teaching. Among other roles, he has served long on the steering group of the Faculty’s master’s programme and has in recent years taken on the role of programme director.

As Vice-Dean, Ketola plans to draw on his extensive teaching experience while also learning new skills. His key priority is to increase the number of degrees finished in the target duration, with faster completion of master’s theses playing an important role.

“As a scholar of Catholicism, it’s nice to echo Pope Leo XIV in noting that the nature and application of artificial intelligence raise important questions of responsibility and truth. Its potentially unethical use in academic study will cause teachers plenty of headaches.”

Vice-Dean Terhi Utriainen

In her new role as Vice-Dean for Research, Professor of Study of Religions will contribute to developing and supporting research across the University. As a member of the Faculty’s management group, she leads the research committee, which organises a research seminar once per term.

“Research is central to the academic world, and for me, the main reason I work at a university. That makes it particularly motivating to promote research,” states Utriainen.

Utriainen herself conducts ethnographic and other qualitative research on lived religious phenomena in our multicultural and secularised society. She currently leads Whose Angels?, a Kone Foundation–funded research project combining scholarly work with art. She also leads the empirical research group Future, Futurelessness and Vernacular Responses to Suffering at the Research Council of Finland’s new Centre of Excellence in Meliorist Philosophy of Suffering, launched at the beginning of the year and led by Sami Pihlström

In her new position, Utriainen wants to promote academic freedom and a broad range of research cultures. She also stresses the importance of giving academic community members the space to think in peace, whether alone or with others.

Vice-Dean Virpi Mäkinen

Senior University Lecturer of Systematic Theology is the Vice-Dean for Public Engagement and International Relations. She is a historian of ideas focusing on the mediaeval period and the early phase of the early modern period, with extensive experience in interdisciplinary collaboration. She currently holds the position of Deputy Director at the Centre of Excellence in Meliorist Philosophy of Suffering, and directs the Centre’s research group History of Ethics and Law of Responding to Suffering.

As Vice-Dean, Mäkinen’s duties include fostering the Faculty’s societal connections, promoting the use of research knowledge, leading stakeholder and alumni activities, and maintaining partnerships. She also handles fundraising and international relations.

Mäkinen hopes her role as Vice-Dean will allow her to support the societal impact of the Faculty’s research. She sees the societal, sociopolitical and global-political importance of religions as continually growing.

“Living in a multicultural world requires both an understanding of religious diversity and the kind of high-quality, broad-based research our Faculty conducts. However, the Faculty, the University and societal actors such as companies and politicians are still not always able to use these resources effectively.”