
About
Theodore E. Long, PhD, is president emeritus of Elizabethtown College and trustee emeritus of Capital University. As Elizabethtown president, he strengthened the college’s faculty, academic and co-curricular programs, financial health, market position, and board governance. During his final three years as president, he led the campus in rethinking the college’s business model and was active in addressing such issues among independent colleges. As a Capital trustee, he served on the executive committee, chaired three board committees, and led a task force on sustainable excellence.
Long has broad experience in the governance of independent colleges and universities, especially on issues related to effective presidential leadership, board-president relations, institutional transformation, board development and restructuring, strategic planning, and the board’s role in leading change. He has assisted more than 80 boards in addressing such issues. In addition, he has conducted board and presidential assessments and coached presidents and board chairs. He is the author of AGB’s Restructuring Committees (2018) and currently serves as an AGB membership ambassador.
Prior to Elizabethtown, Long held teaching and administrative posts at George Washington University, Hollins University, Washington and Jefferson College, and Merrimack College. His scholarship focused on religious movements, religion and politics, social change, and socialization, and he served as president of the Association for the Sociology of Religion. He received the Francis J. Michelini award for outstanding service to independent higher education in Pennsylvania from the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Pennsylvania.
Professional Credentials
Long earned his BA at Capital University, his MA at Duke University, and his PhD at the University of Virginia, all in sociology.