Theodore E. Long is president emeritus of Elizabethtown College, which he had served for fifteen years as president until his retirement in 2011; a trustee of Capital University, his alma mater; and a senior consultant for AGB Consulting. He has broad experience in the governance of independent colleges, especially on issues related to presidential leadership, board-president relations, strategic planning, board assessment and development, committee restructuring, shared governance, institutional transformation, and the board’s role in leading change.
As Elizabethtown’s president, Dr. Long led a broad range of initiatives that strengthened the college’s board, faculty, programs, finances, physical plant, market position, and reputation for academic excellence. As a Capital trustee since 2004, he has chaired committees on academic affairs, student affairs, and mission and identity. He also led a board task force on “sustainable excellence” and served as a member of a task force that led the process of restructuring the board’s committees. As an AGB consultant, Dr. Long has assisted dozens of boards in all dimensions of their work, coached several presidents and board chairs, and led special planning projects for AGB itself. A number of his assignments have involved committee restructuring, usually as part of larger board-development projects. He often leads workshops for AGB’s national conference and contributes to Trusteeship magazine.
Dr. Long earned degrees from Capital University (BA), Duke University (MA), and the University of Virginia (PhD), all in sociology, and he has been awarded three honorary doctoral degrees. Prior to serving as president of Elizabethtown College, he held teaching and administrative posts at the George Washington University, Hollins University, Washington and Jefferson College, and Merrimack College. As a scholar, he published works on religious movements, religion and politics, social change, and socialization, and he served as president of the Association for the Sociology of Religion.
Since retiring as president of Elizabethtown, Dr. Long has focused on building effective board and presidential leadership for transformative change in colleges and universities. He also remains active in initiatives to develop new models for educating the whole person, promote civic learning, enhance global education, and rethink the business model of higher education.
