Carol Long, dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Willamette University, will assume the position of Geneseo's provost on July 1, concluding a nationwide search that attracted over 70 applicants.
Long said she became interested in Geneseo because she is "very attracted to the public liberal arts mission" and that she hopes to support and expand that mission when she arrives this summer. A former river guide, she also said she enjoys the rural setting and surrounding environment of the campus.
Referring to her visit to Geneseo, Long said she was "very impressed with the quality of the student body," which she described as "curious; interested in thinking and writing and asking questions."
In addition to her liberal arts credentials, Long will bring with her interests in international education, diversity and interdisciplinary studies such as the interface between science and literature. "I hope that students will consider me to have an open door policy," she said, adding, "We need to remember that the students are the center of our colleges ... without them, [the faculty] would not be here."
Long received her bachelor's degree from Pomona College in California and her master's degree from Northwestern University in Illinois. She continued at Northwestern to earn her doctorate in English literature in 1972. At that time she began teaching at Willamette and became a full professor of English in 1985.
At Willamette, Long served as a liaison to that college's sister institution, Tokyo International University, helped revise the general education program in the mid-1990s, improved the first-year seminar program, played an instrumental role in securing Hewlett and Mellon Foundation Grants and founded the Oregon Writing Project, a partnership between Willamette and surrounding K-12 schools and state colleges.
Her variety of teaching areas include modernist literature of Britain and America, science and literature, rhetoric of science, women in science, the novel, northwest literature, composition, creative nonfiction and specific studies on authors Samuel Beckett and Virginia Woolf.
Outside of academia, Long has been a licensed Oregon river guide, a Girl Scout leader and is a member of the Audubon Society.
Chemistry professor Wendy Pogozelski, who chaired the provost search committee, said Long is "warm and personable … very down to earth."
According to Pogozelski, the committee chose Long because of her broad training and interests, her goals of using technology to improve the Geneseo learning experience and because she is a "very accomplished scholar" who will be able to mentor faculty and serve as a good example of the teacher-scholar model.
President Christopher Dahl said he is "very enthusiastic about the prospect of working with [Long]." He cited her experience in writing major grants, her participation in educational issues at a national level and her genuine passion for the liberal arts setting as key factors that led to her selection. He said that Long is "a great fit for our culture" and will know how "to get us to the next level as a public liberal arts college."
Dahl also pointed out her long history of experience as a professor and administrator and said that many of the college representatives that met with Long when she visited the college this month were "extremely enthusiastic" about her administrative style.
As provost and vice president of academic affairs, Long will report directly to Dahl and will oversee academic departments, the dean's office, libraries, computing and information technologies and sponsored and institutional research programs.