The Undergraduate Experience

The Frederick Douglas statue on the University of Maryland campus depicts, as wikipedia puts it, "Douglass in the middle of a speech, with one arm outstretched, and a copy of his autobiography under the other arm." His mouth is open in a fiery speech. The statue is cast bronze on a black marble block with white text chiseled on front reading Frederick Douglas 1818-1895, on the side, white text is legible that reads: Abolitionist, Suffragist, Labor Leader. The figure is set off to the right of the image with a band of long, wheat colored grasses in the middle background, with three windows of the red brick colonial style building in the distant background.

Education The Graduate Experience The Long Road The Undergraduate Experience

The Intentional Work of Values-Enacted Change

The only way to ensure that transformative culture change takes root and grows across higher education is to build coalitions within and across institutions and organizations with colleagues who are structurally positioned and values-oriented and…

Christopher LongJanuary 22, 2023

Dean The Long Road The Undergraduate Experience

To the Class of 2025: Let Us Begin Again Together

To the Class of 2025, Welcome to Michigan State University, to the College of Arts & Letters, and to the MSU Honors College! You begin your MSU journey at a time like no other. As…

Christopher LongAugust 31, 2021

Dean The Undergraduate Experience

To the Class of 2023: Embrace the Adventure

Dear Class of 2023, Welcome to Michigan State University! As we prepared our Welcome to MSU video this year, I found myself unexpectedly face-to-face with a picture of my past self as a first-year student…

Christopher LongAugust 27, 2019

Dean The Liberal Arts The Undergraduate Experience

To the Class of 2021: Be Resilient, Like a Tree

Dear College of Arts & Letters Class of 2021, Welcome to Michigan State University! As you embark on the adventure of discovery and growth that is a liberal arts education in the College of Arts…

Christopher LongAugust 25, 2017

Dean Education The Administrative Life The Long Road The Undergraduate Experience

Finding Your Place, Leaving a Mark

Dear College of Arts & Letters Class of 2020, Welcome to Michigan State University! As you begin your journey in the College of Arts & Letters at Michigan State University, let me tell you a…

Christopher LongAugust 31, 2016

Dean The Long Road The Undergraduate Experience

Paths to Explore

Last week was the first week of the fall semester at Michigan State. It was my first opportunity to welcome new students to campus as Dean of the College of Arts & Letters. In order…

Christopher LongSeptember 7, 2015

The Liberal Arts The Long Road The Undergraduate Experience

Returning to an Integrated Gen Ed Approach at Penn State

By the summer of 1954, the students at Penn State had grown impatient. The world had settled into a Cold War, the nuclear arms race threatened total annihilation, and the students felt unprepared to address…

Christopher LongFebruary 20, 2015

Education The Administrative Life The Long Road The Undergraduate Experience

Deliberating #PSUGenEd

Today we embark upon an exciting new phase of the General Education reform process at Penn State. After more than a year of conversations and discussion, we are now in a position to engage in…

Christopher LongSeptember 21, 2014

The Liberal Arts The Long Road The Undergraduate Experience

Ike Advocates for #PSUGenEd at Penn State Centennial Commencement

Fifty-nine years ago today, on June 9, 1955, President Dwight Eisenhower addressed the centennial graduating class of Penn State, where his brother, Milton, was president of the university. Two things were on the President's mind…

Christopher LongJune 9, 2014

The Administrative Life The Liberal Arts The Long Road The Undergraduate Experience

Beginning Anew with #PSUGenEd

At the Penn State General Education Spring 2014 retreat, we decided to begin anew with GenEd as we try to find ways to feasibly adopt a curriculum that would be animated by substantive integrative learning…

Christopher LongMay 18, 2014

The Administrative Life The Liberal Arts The Long Road The Undergraduate Experience

General Education Reform at Penn State

The Information Technology unit at Penn State holds IT Matters breakfasts a few times a year. This semester I joined colleagues on stage to talk about my work and how it intersects with IT at…

Christopher LongApril 15, 2014

The Administrative Life The Liberal Arts The Long Road The Undergraduate Experience

#PSUGenEd and the Research Endeavor

We at Penn State are engaged in an intense, ongoing and, in my view, very healthy dialogue about General Education reform. In order to integrate the research endeavor into the undergraduate experience, we ought to…

Christopher LongApril 10, 2014

Education The Liberal Arts The Long Road The Undergraduate Experience

Beginning Again with the Liberal Arts

The rhythm of the academic year returns us again to the beginning. State College is charged with energy as parents drop off their children, some for the first time, and students turn and return to…

Christopher LongAugust 24, 2013

Education Technology The Long Road The Undergraduate Experience

Twitter, Community and the First Year Experience

Words do things. What they do, depends on the manner in which they are said, written and received. What they did, and failed to do, last night is something that requires some reflection. That is…

Christopher LongNovember 29, 2012

Education Technology The Long Road The Undergraduate Experience

Liberal Arts Voices Hanging Out on Google

Student Panel at LASTS11 Originally uploaded by LAUSatPSU On Wednesday, September 28th at 4pm eastern, we in the Liberal Arts Undergraduate Studies office will take another step out into the great technological unknown by recording…

Christopher LongSeptember 27, 2011

The Long Road The Undergraduate Experience

Transformative Education

I first met Ruth Canagarajah in an honors course I taught a few years ago. She already struck me then as a thoughtful, engaged and creative student. She wrote an excellent paper for that course…

Christopher LongMarch 1, 2011

Education Technology The Long Road The Undergraduate Experience

Some Initial Thoughts on the iPad

It is already clear to me that the iPad does not replicate the experience of the iPhone even though many of the apps serve the same functionality. The iPad is much less intrusive in collaborative…

Christopher LongApril 8, 2010

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