A-State Names Adam Long to Director of Heritage Sites Post
JONESBORO – Dr. Adam Long, director of the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center (HPMEC) in Piggott for the last eight years, has been appointed as the executive director of Arkansas Heritage Sites at Arkansas State University.
Long, who has served as the interim director since June 2019, succeeds Dr. Ruth Hawkins who retired after filling that role since 1999. He officially started the job in mid-January. The Heritage Sites office is located in the Historic V.C. Kays House on the A-State campus at 2506 Aggie Road.
“I’m pleased that Adam has accepted the permanent position as the director of A-State’s Heritage Sites,” Chancellor Kelly Damphousse said. “Heritage Sites and Heritage Studies are synonymous with A-State across the region, and to have someone with his skill and knowledge of our museum locations ensures the continued strength of these outreach programs.”
As head of the HPMEC, Long expanded the museum’s programming to include reading retreats, special writers’ retreats for military veterans, short fiction contests, writers-in-residence and themed events.
“I've enjoyed working with the Heritage Sites team over the past eight years, and I look forward to this new role,” said Long. “I believe the Heritage Sites are a great asset to the university and to the communities in Northeast Arkansas. I'm honored to be a part of the program.”
Long is a 2002 graduate of Jonesboro High School. He received a bachelor of arts degree in English in 2006 from Lyon College and a master of arts in American literature in 2008 from the University of Arkansas. He received a Ph.D. in American literature in May 2012 from the University of Kansas.
In his time at A-State, he has taught classes in both English and Heritage Studies. Long also has published in the Hemingway Review, the Faulkner Journal and Philological Review, and authored chapters on both Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner.
Along with his college teaching experience, he is active in a number of professional associations, including the Hemingway Society, and has worked with youth and adults in a variety of informal learning settings. Long’s administrative background includes a term on the Lyon College Board of Trustees, working with student affairs, curriculum and institutional advancement.
“We’re looking forward to Adam’s leadership as the executive director of Arkansas Heritage Sites at Arkansas State University,” stated Dr. Karen Wheeler, senior associate vice chancellor for academic affairs. “Of the many strengths he brings to the position, we are particularly excited about his background in educational programming and extensive community outreach.”
The Arkansas State University Heritage Sites Office develops and operates historic properties of regional and national significance in the Arkansas Delta. These sites provide educational resources for formal and informal learning, including serving as living laboratories for students in the university’s Heritage Studies Ph.D. program. In addition, they serve as economic catalysts in communities where they are located by attracting heritage tourists from around the country.
In addition to the Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center, other A-State Heritage Sites include Historic Dyess Colony: Johnny Cash Boyhood Home; Lakeport Plantation; Southern Tenant Farmers Museum; Rohwer Japanese American Relocation Center; and Historic V.C. Kays House.
A-State Heritage Sites also serves as an administrative agent for Arkansas Delta Byways, the official non-profit regional tourism promotion association serving 15 counties in the Arkansas Delta. These include Arkansas, Chicot, Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Desha, Drew, Greene, Lee, Mississippi, Monroe, Phillips, Poinsett and St. Francis counties.
A-State Heritage Sites has been instrumental in developing and promoting two National Scenic Byways that traverse this region: the Crowley’s Ridge Parkway and the Arkansas segment of the 10-state Great River Road, which runs along both sides of the Mississippi River, from its headwaters at Lake Itasca, Minn., to the Gulf of Mexico.
