Mount Marty University President Marcus Long to Deliver Mount Marty Commencement Address on Faith and Passion

Marcus Long, Ph.D., president of Mount Marty University (MMU), will give the commencement address to the Yankton undergraduate and graduate students on Saturday, May 3, 2025. 

A native of Hallsville, Missouri, Long has lived his entire life within 30 miles of the Missouri River, which flows by MMU's Yankton campus. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Missouri and a Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy studies from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. 

Before joining the MMU community as president of the university, Long served as the vice president for administration at the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis. Before his tenure in St. Louis, Long served 13 years in the chancellor's office at the University of Missouri. 

Long is MMU's 11th president. When deciding to come to MMU, Long said, "It was about my faith and geography. I am Catholic and wanted to further the cause of Catholic higher education. But I also wanted to stay in the Midwest where I appreciate the culture and values of community and hard work."

Long began his tenure on July 15, 2015, and has focused on increasing enrollment and student success, fostering Benedictine leadership principles across the university, and partnering with other entities to serve MMU students and the region better. From 2019 to 2023, Long served as chair of the Association of Benedictine Colleges and Universities, and he led the Council of Presidents of the Great Plains Athletic Conference from 2021 to 2023. He was the first MMU president to lead either organization. In 2023, he became the longest-serving president in MMU's 87-year history, except for the three Benedictine sisters who served in that capacity. 

"I've always been committed to making sure the learning and living experience on campus is better for our students each and every year, both at the undergraduate level and the graduate level," said Long. "And so deploying all university resources to make sure that the quality of experience and the options for our students continually get better is probably the most fulfilling thing I've done here." Since 2015, MMU has completed more than $20 million in new building projects, including the Ruth Donohoe First Dakota Fieldhouse and Rickenbach Suites. In addition, MMU became the first private university in South Dakota to offer doctoral programs. During Long's tenure, enrollment increased by nearly 30 percent during eight consecutive years of growth, and he worked with Avera Health to establish the Avera Nursing Advantage program, which offers significant financial and professional advantages to MMU nursing students who choose to become Avera nurses after graduation. In the process, Mount Marty became Avera's preferred nursing school. The university also added football, archery, cheer and dance to its athletics offerings and completed its first major fundraising campaign in history. 

In addition to his higher education leadership work, Long has served on the Yankton Thrive and United Way and Volunteer Services of Greater Yankton boards. He also serves as an adjunct research professor of emergency medicine at the University of Missouri and continues to serve as a volunteer mentor for doctoral students at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. He is also a Benedictine oblate at Sacred Heart Monastery in Yankton. 

In March 2025, Long announced his intention to retire from MMU after a transformational ten years leading the institution. Being this year's commencement speaker is very special to Long as it will be his last commencement ceremony. He plans to instill in the graduates wisdom on faith and what a person's calling is in life. Long said, "Have a passion and realize that your passion and circumstances may change as opportunities and the stages of life change. Just be open to your calling and make sure you follow that passion. …  I hope that our students, through this Benedictine education that they've received at Mount Marty, realize that they really can have a positive impact on their communities, and thus the world." 

The Yankton undergraduate and graduate commencement ceremonies will be held at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively, in Cimpl Arena at Mount Marty University. Program details can be found at mountmarty.edu/commencement.

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ABOUT MOUNT MARTY UNIVERSITY 

Founded in 1936 by the Benedictine Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery, Mount Marty University is South Dakota's only Catholic institution of higher education. Located along the bluffs of the Missouri River in Yankton, with additional locations in Watertown and Sioux Falls, Mount Marty offers undergraduate and graduate degrees focusing on student and alumni success in high-demand fields such as health sciences, education, criminal justice, business, accounting, and more. A community of learners in the Benedictine tradition, Mount Marty emphasizes academic excellence and develops well-rounded students with intellectual competence, professional and personal skills and moral, spiritual and social values. To learn more, visit mountmarty.edu.