Douglas Long, a DePaul University faculty member who taught theater and movie classes, spent 15 years directing the university’s first-year program, which helps freshmen learn research, writing and critical thinking skills, and find community by exploring the city with their classmates, faculty and staff leaders.
Through that work, Long interacted with thousands of first-year students at DePaul over the years. Trained in journalism and theater, Long also taught at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn and at Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago.
“Doug lived DePaul’s mission and identity,” said Mark Pohlad, a DePaul associate professor of art history who oversaw the university’s first-year program before Long. “He loved the urban identity and all the diversity that went with it. And he couldn’t wait to introduce students to campus, to various neighborhoods and to a life of the mind and heart.”
Long, 62, died of complications from leukemia on Aug. 26 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, said his wife, Kay. He was a Lisle resident.
Born in 1962 in Anderson, Indiana, Long grew up in Anderson and graduated from the now-shuttered Highland High School there. A theater aficionado from a young age, Long enjoyed writing and directing plays with his twin brother, Dave, casting other family members and friends in small parts.
Long earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and theater in 1984 from Ball State University, where he acted in and directed plays, and also worked on the student newspaper and its weekly magazine. After college, he worked for a time as a reporter for local newspapers in Anderson.
Long then returned to Indiana University, where he earned a master’s degree in theater and drama in 1989 and then a master of fine arts degree in directing in 1995. From 1987 until 1996, Long also served as director of audience development for Indiana University’s theater program. He also advised student directors on full productions.
In 1996, Long and his wife moved to the Chicago area, where he began pursuing a career in theater. He worked on a variety of local productions, directing plays for the Retro Theatre Company, the Annex Theatre and the Bailiwick. He also was assistant director for a staging of “Slaughterhouse-Five” at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company.
Long also directed a variety of works at Victory Gardens Theater, and he taught several courses there between 2001 and 2010.
In 2000, DePaul hired Long as an adjunct professor to teach courses in performance of literature, chamber theater, performance of autobiography, performance of nonfiction and public speaking. In 2006, he signed on full time as the university’s assistant director of academic administration for DePaul’s first-year program while continuing to teach classes.
Long was promoted to director of the first-year program in 2009. In that role, he oversaw two courses that are required of all DePaul freshmen in the liberal studies program: Chicago Quarter, which is team-taught and involves experiential education, and Focal Point Seminar, which takes a multidisciplinary approach to investigating a single person, place, event, text or idea.
“Doug excelled at helping others to shine,” said Heather Easley, a DePaul adjunct sociology professor who recently joined the staff of the first-year program. “I don’t know if it came from his theater director skills, his professorial style or if he was just born that way. But I do know that it’s a rare person who can serve as a human spotlight for the good in others.”
Long also continued teaching Chicago Theatre, a course that introduces freshmen to DePaul and Chicago by sending them to theater productions around the city, and Chicago in Film, which allows freshmen to study Chicago through its portrayal in cinema. Long also taught courses on movie musicals, the films of Alfred Hitchcock and on the year 1939 in Hollywood.
Colleagues remember Long as a community-builder who always had a kind word and a deep commitment to those around him.
Long acted “as a graciously inclusive social anchor for the communities he held dear, including Chicago-based theater artists working on shows he directed, alumni from Indiana University’s theater department and DePaul University community members he collaborated with for over 25 years,” said Kirsten D’Aurelio, who teaches in DePaul’s first-year program as well as in its College of Communication.
Jeanne Williams, an actor who also is the associate director of academic services in DePaul’s theater department, worked for more than nine years with Long in the first-year program’s Chicago Theatre class.
“Doug was the person who always shined the light on others, (and) he was proud to give that spotlight to his students, colleagues and friends,” Williams said. “But many times, the spotlight was on them because Doug was the one who led them to it. … He had a great eye for casting and allowed his actors to explore boundaries, then would gently guide them to the space he wanted them to be in.”
Leah Bryant, an associate professor in DePaul’s communication studies department, called Long “beloved across the university,” with a “seemingly infinite well of patience and understanding and kindness.”
“I don’t know anyone who was as dedicated of a professor as Doug was,” she said. “If people needed something, he was always there and responding. And Doug gave opportunities to a lot of people — he always had time for people and always wanted to help develop their personal and professional goals.”
Pohlad called Long “the ideal colleague — helpful, generous, sweet and really competent.”
“He wanted everyone to succeed, from his students, whom he loved, to his staff, whom he was intensely grateful for, and they, him,” Pohlad said. “Doug’s many good qualities tended to make you forget how really bright he was. He knew so much about film, theater, media and history. Those of us who had a chance to talk, say, Hitchcock movies with him, had a real treat.”
In September, Long was awarded the university’s Spirit of DePaul award for those who exemplify the spirit of the university. DePaul is renaming its Innovation in Teaching Award in Long’s honor.
Long never retired.
Outside of work, he researched and wrote about classic movies, including book reviews for Film Quarterly. He also pursued theater projects and was active as a choir member and reader at St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Glen Ellyn.
In addition to his wife and twin, Long is survived by a son, Adam; a daughter, Sarah; two more brothers, William and Benjamin; and his parents, Fred and Patricia.
A celebration of life will take place Oct. 25. Those interested can email kaylong1222@gmail.com for details.
Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
