Writing Along The Way

The Spartan Rock, painted white, with a green Spartan helmet, on the left and "Always a Spartan" painted on the front. The names of Brian Fraser, Arielle Anderson, and Alexandria Verner, are written in green letters along the bottom. In front of the rock are piles of flowers and a green and white Spartans Will flag laying on mulch front and center of the image. There are three crosses with hearts and fish symbols to the right of the rock.

Education Living The Long Road

When Twilight Silence Falls

On Tuesday morning when I made my way to the sacred circle, past the resilient tree, to Linton Hall there was a silence such as I had never heard before. It was not the silence…

Christopher LongFebruary 18, 2023

Dean The Long Road

Deepening Connection in a Time of Distancing

As this disquieting semester comes to a close, it’s appropriate to pause for a moment to reflect on the distance we have traveled and the path that lies ahead.

Christopher LongApril 29, 2020

Dean

Toward a Culture of Care

In the summer of 2018, a group of MSU Deans came together to write an essay that was published in Inside Higher Education under the title: "Can Michigan State Recover and Chart a New Path…

Christopher LongApril 24, 2019

Dean The Administrative Life The Long Road

One year ago today, Rachael Denhollander addressed the Ingham County court in Michigan, her abuser, and the institutions that failed to protect her and her #SisterSurvivors. Listen again to part of what she said on…

Christopher LongJanuary 24, 2019

Dean

Living Values

In the open letter we wrote to the College of Arts & Letters community in January 2018, we promised to look critically at ourselves, recognize our failures, and rebuild the trust that is required of…

Christopher LongNovember 30, 2018

Dean The Liberal Arts

Cultivating a Culture of Trust

It has been difficult to write for the public in the months since posting the Open Letter to the College of Arts & Letters in the wake of the survivor impact statements that are transforming…

Christopher LongApril 12, 2018

Dean The Long Road

Life’s Blueprints: Designing the Structure of Our Professional Lives

Last year at this time, we spoke of beginnings and routine, of resolve and the quotidian habits required to weave them into a meaningful life. We set our intention to focus on five priorities through…

Christopher LongJanuary 15, 2018

Dean The Liberal Arts The Long Road

Practices of Weaving: Arts & Letters at MSU

Late last month, the faculty on the College Advisory Council (CAC) gave me a writing assignment. In preparation for our Fall 2017 faculty meeting on November 17, they asked me to take a step back…

Christopher LongNovember 14, 2017

Dean The Administrative Life The Long Road

Practicing Gratitude

Last weekend was homecoming on the Michigan State University campus, and I found myself reflecting on the meaning and significance of gratitude. So many alumni returned to campus to give thanks for all the ways…

Christopher LongOctober 24, 2017

Dean The Liberal Arts The Long Road

The Emergence of Our Vision: Public Education Rooted in the Liberal Arts

This month marks the beginning of my third year as Dean of the College of Arts & Letters. When I began as Dean in 2015, I spoke about advancing the arts and humanities at the…

Christopher LongJuly 19, 2017

Dean Living The Long Road

Beware the Jabberwocks

Lessons from the Dragon Boat None of us knew quite what to expect on Saturday as we gathered at Hawk Island for our one-hour training session for the Capital City Dragon Boat Race to support the…

Christopher LongMay 23, 2017

Dean The Liberal Arts The Long Road

To Teach and Delight

The last two weeks of March this year brought sadness twice over to the College of Arts & Letters. On March 18, 2017, we lost Anna Norris, a beloved professor of French Literature who taught…

Christopher LongApril 14, 2017

Dean The Administrative Life The Long Road

Charting a Path to Intellectual Leadership, then Following It

As a junior faculty member, I attended every possible workshop on tenure and promotion I could find. Inevitably, however, as the shared wisdom of those who had successfully been tenured and promoted washed over me,…

Christopher LongMarch 14, 2017

The Administrative Life The Liberal Arts The Long Road

Between Beginning and Routine

With the new year comes the deluge of resolutions. This ritual of new beginnings affords us an opportunity to begin anew, for, as the ancient proverb reminds us, “well begun is half done.” Aristotle, Politics,…

Christopher LongJanuary 15, 2017

The Liberal Arts The Long Road

Open Letter to the College of Arts & Letters

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff: We in the College of Arts & Letters seek to advance the core values of Michigan State University — quality, inclusiveness, and connectivity — by practicing inclusion as a matter of institutional habit.…

Christopher LongNovember 12, 2016

Black and white abstracted image of layers of circles and squares

Digital Humanities The Administrative Life The Long Road

Critical Diversity in a Digital Age

Last year we developed a strategic plan in the College of Arts & Letters that called for a cluster hire in culturally engaged digital humanities that focuses on humanities questions of race, inclusion, cultural preservation,…

Christopher LongOctober 31, 2016

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 Digital Humanities Digital Scholarship The Administrative Life The Long Road

Investing in Humanities Publishing

To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect when I arrived at the headquarters of the Association of American Universities in Washington, D.C. early last week to take part in a discussion about a…

Christopher LongAugust 8, 2016

Civic Life The Liberal Arts The Long Road

Responding to Complexity with Nuance and Grace

In the wake of last week’s violence, we have again become caught up in the fraught dichotomy into which public discourse always seems to force us. It is as if somehow the human capacity to…

Christopher LongJuly 14, 2016

The Administrative Life The Long Road

MSU Shadows

A year ago today, as I began my tenure as Dean of the College of Arts & Letters at Michigan State University, I made reference to a passage by Peter Raible, one that draws from…

Christopher LongJuly 1, 2016

Education The Administrative Life The Long Road

5 Things That Facilitate Academic Collaboration

Lists are the current vernacular of the internet. There is even a social media site, li.st, wholly dedicated to the creation and sharing of lists of all sorts. So, as I considered how I might…

Christopher LongJune 27, 2016

Dean Education The Administrative Life

Learning to Play in a More Inclusive Key

On three different days in three different meetings, the same note was sounded. It struck a cord that resonated with me as I listened to faculty from three groups talk about their experience in the…

Christopher LongApril 25, 2016

The Administrative Life The Long Road

Arts & Letters Scholars

On the surface, it appeared to be a simple question of style: should we spell out “and” or use the ampersand when referring to the College? But form and content are intertwined; no style presents…

Christopher LongMarch 3, 2016

The Administrative Life The Long Road

Practicing Inclusion as a Matter of Institutional Habit

Institutions of higher education across the country have long talked about diversity and inclusion. Many have established offices of equity or inclusion and hired staff to ensure that the institution is living up to its…

Christopher LongFebruary 14, 2016

Dean The Long Road

I am allergic to cynicism.

I have been owning up to this affliction in each of the introductory department meetings I have had with faculty across the College during my first semester as Dean. Of course, the more cynical among…

Christopher LongJanuary 12, 2016

Education The Administrative Life The Long Road

Engaged Scholarship

This was initially posted on Medium as part of my Writing Along the Way project. Engaged Scholarship To speak of “applied” scholarship is to divorce theory from practice in a way that impoverishes both. This,…

Christopher LongDecember 24, 2015

The Administrative Life The Long Road

Catalytic Opportunities

Continuing my experiment in public writing along the way, this post on Medium outlines the contours of what I've been thinking about as "catalytic opportunities." Catalytic Opportunities I’ve begun thinking about strategic initiatives as catalytic.…

Christopher LongDecember 11, 2015

The Administrative Life The Long Road

Habits of Public Writing

This post on Medium initiates an experiment in public writing designed to facilitate transparency and refine my thinking in relation to issues I face in my role as Dean of the College of Arts and…

Christopher LongDecember 6, 2015

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

Green grass leading up to the beautiful Katsura Tree in the Beal Botanical Garden. There are purple flowers in the foreground on the right.

Dean Education The Administrative Life The Long Road

A Living Place of Education

The places we inhabit habituate us. The virtues they cultivate are grounded in the values they embody. In 1855, a natural opening in the oak forest of the Burr farm was selected as a fitting…

Christopher LongJuly 28, 2015

Dean The Administrative Life The Long Road

The Edge of the Oak Opening

As I begin my tenure as Dean of the College of Arts and Letters at Michigan State University I find myself thinking of these lines adapted from Deuteronomy 6:10-12 by Peter Raible: "We build on…

Christopher LongJuly 1, 2015

When Twilight Silence Falls

Deepening Connection in a Time of Distancing

Toward a Culture of Care

Failures to Listen

Living Values

Cultivating a Culture of Trust

Life’s Blueprints: Designing the Structure of Our Professional Lives

Practices of Weaving: Arts & Letters at MSU

Practicing Gratitude

The Emergence of Our Vision: Public Education Rooted in the Liberal Arts

Beware the Jabberwocks

To Teach and Delight

Charting a Path to Intellectual Leadership, then Following It

Between Beginning and Routine

Open Letter to the College of Arts & Letters

Critical Diversity in a Digital Age

Finding Your Place, Leaving a Mark

Investing in Humanities Publishing

Responding to Complexity with Nuance and Grace

MSU Shadows

5 Things That Facilitate Academic Collaboration

Learning to Play in a More Inclusive Key

Arts & Letters Scholars

Practicing Inclusion as a Matter of Institutional Habit

I am allergic to cynicism.

Engaged Scholarship

Catalytic Opportunities

Habits of Public Writing

Paths to Explore

A Living Place of Education

The Edge of the Oak Opening

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