Elizabethtown College has long prided itself on the sentiments of its signature phrase, “Educate for Service.”

This was a notion echoed by professor of religion and Asian studies Dr. Jeffery Long when asked about the role of scholarship in the world at large, stating “Scholarship needs to be of use to humanity.”

Long has the benefit of approaching scholarship from a unique context, informed by recent recognitions of his large body of authorship and speeches.

In the month of August, Long had the opportunity to speak twice at the United Nations (UN).

It was an opportunity that Long describes as having “fell in [his] lap.”

He went on to say, “I was not seeking out the UN…I was just doing my work as a scholar.”

The specific talks that Long gave at the UN focused on religious pluralism and nonviolence.

He initially became known by the UN following a speech he gave at the New York Vedanta society.

Vedanta societies are organizations that encourage self-knowledge in line with Hindu teachings.

In June, Long had presented a talk entitled “Jainism and Vedanta: A Comparative Study” that was of interest to a member of the UN involved in the Vedanta Society.

This individual, Peter Dawkins, invited Long to speak at the UN Aug. 2, 2019, for an event being run by the International Day of Yoga Committee to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the UN Resolution to Develop a Culture of Peace as well as their Declaration on a Culture of Peace.

The yogic traditions and values emphasized by the International Day of Yoga Committee reflect the Indian philosophy of “yoga.”

Yogic philosophy is pan-religious in implementation and prioritizes peace-building and nonviolence.

Following Long’s talk on the second, he was invited to speak again at the UN Aug. 23.

This talk was focused more specifically on nonviolence.

Both of these events were leading up to the International Day of Peace Sept. 21, 2019.

Additionally, Long was asked to combine both of his speeches for a 2020 UN publication entitled “Light on Light.”

This publication is a journal published annually by the International Day of Yoga Committee.

Given that these speeches were accessible to the public, Etown alumni in New York had come out to see Long give his UN talks.

It was important to Long to have the active support and encouragement of past students.

It has been especially valuable for him, following this experience, to impart onto current students at the College that success in their field of choice is not out of reach.

Long stressed that “success builds upon success,” and specified that he had no prior UN connections before this summer.

“I think you could call me a first-generation college student, and that’s like a lot of our students here at Elizabethtown…if I can grow up and speak at the UN, you can too.

Don’t let your background ever make you feel unworthy,” Long said. “When you do good work, people see it eventually.”

Given this context, Long emphasized the importance of scholarship in peace and nonviolence.

“It saddens me that people tend to look at disciplines like religious studies and…the Humanities disciplines and think that [they are] not useful,” he said. “If you really want to go and do something interesting in the world, you need in depth knowledge of religion, culture, philosophy.”

Being knowledgeable about religion, peace and nonviolence is not solely beneficial to those pursuing those topics for their degrees, according to Long.

“Everybody should know something about the world’s religions. That’s good information for a philosopher to have, but it’s also good information for a physician’s assistant to have. This is all valuable knowledge,” he said.

Long said he was specifically grateful about the support he was able to have throughout his academic career.

“I’m grateful for the fact that at Elizabethtown College I have been able to thrive in my scholarship,” he said.

Given how well received his two speeches in August were, Long has been invited again to speak at the UN in October.

Long has found value in showcasing his work in this manner because, as he said, “The United Nations is the premier institution trying to work for global peace.”

For his speech in October, he has been asked by the United Nations Society for Enlightenment and Transformation to elaborate on a recent book he has published on the topic of reincarnation.

This speech will take place Oct. 18 and is open to the public. Those interested in attending can email longjd@etown.edu to RSVP.