Sylvia Kinnunen was born in Lake Linden, Michigan, on August 24, 1920. She graduated from Dollar Bay High School in 1937 and attended Northern Michigan State Teachers' College. Kinnunen received a B.S. degree from Northern Michigan College in 1953 and her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Michigan in 1954 and 1957, respectively. Kinnunen began her teaching career in a one-room school house in Rousseau, Michigan, and also taught elementary students in Alston, Massachusetts. She joined the faculty at Northern Michigan University (NMU) in 1956 and retired from NMU as a professor in the Department of Education in 1981. During Kinnunen's tenure at NMU, she established the Committee for Women in Academe, the predecessor of Committee W of the NMU chapter of the American Association of University Professors. Silvia Kinnunen died on July 25, 2005.
From the description of Sylvia Kinnunen papers 1920-2005 (Olson Library, Northern Michigan University). WorldCat record id: 756859747
