Kenneth Long, who started as East Stroudsburg University vice president of administration and finance in 2013, began serving as interim president of ESU on April 10. He officially took the helm on July 31.

Over his tenure in ESU finance, Long took the university from operating at a deficit to a surplus. It’s a point of pride with Long that he becomes the first black president of the university with the most diverse student body among the 14 PASSHE schools. He has a special appreciation for the mission of ESU to provide a first-class affordable education to students from all walks of life.

Born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey, Long comes from a family of five children. Early on, he understood the value of education. His father, a factory shop steward, died when Long was 8 years old and Long watched his mother, a seamstress, work two jobs to support the family. She and Long’s uncles on both sides of the family instilled the belief that you need to work hard in school and in life if you want to succeed.

“My mother had a philosophy for my siblings and me: You had three choices after high school: either you go to postsecondary school, you go into the military or you’re getting out of the house,” Long recalls, chuckling. “It was pretty simple.”

Long says he seeks to keep ESU on the path retiring President Marcia Welsh has set with its mission of “Students First: Innovate ESU.”

With the pandemic and enrollment declines across higher education, “now more than ever having a CEO with business acumen is going to be very, very important because we’ll all be facing some pretty sobering financial decisions in the years ahead,” ESU athletic director Gary Gray, says.