Long, Jill Lynette (1952—)

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Long, Jill Lynette (1952—)

American congressional representative, 1989–95. Born on July 15, 1952, in Warsaw, Indiana; attended Columbia City Joint High School; Valparaiso University, B.S., 1974; Indiana University, M.B.A., 1978, and Ph.D., 1984.

Taught at Indiana University, Bloomington, Valparaiso University and Indiana University/Purdue University-Fort Wayne; served as Democratic member of Congress (1989–95); was a fellow at the Institute of Politics, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; served as a member, board of directors, Commodity Credit Corporation; was under-secretary for rural, economic and community development, Department of Agriculture.

Jill Long was born in Warsaw in Kosciusko County, Indiana, on July 15, 1952. Raised on a farm, Long attended public schools in Whitley County, Indiana, graduating from Columbia City Joint High School and, in 1974, from Valparaiso University. After receiving her M.B.A. in 1978 and Ph.D. in 1984 from Indiana University, Bloomington, Long embarked on an academic career. With experience teaching business at Indiana University during her years as a graduate student, Long became an assistant professor of business at Valparaiso University and an adjunct professor at Indiana University/Purdue University-Fort Wayne.

During the mid-1980s, while also acting as a management consultant to small businesses, Long became a member of the Valparaiso city council, serving from 1983 to 1986. Inspired by this political experience, in 1986 Long challenged Dan Quayle in his successful bid for a second Senate term. In 1988, she again lost to a Republican incumbent—this time Representative Dan Coats—in the election for the 101st Congress. When Dan Coats left the House after appointment to Dan Quayle's Senate seat the following year, Long stood for national political office for the third time in the special election for Indiana's Fourth District. Concentrating on local issues in a close-fought campaign which attracted national attention, Long scored a surprising victory over Republican Dan Heath and was elected as a Democrat to the 101st Congress on March 28, 1989.

Long took her oath of office on April 5, 1989, and served on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, the Committee on Agriculture and the Select Committee on Hunger. Unsuccessful in her attempt to be reelected to 104th Congress in 1994, Long became a fellow at the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and a member of the board of directors of the Commodity Credit Corporation. In 1995, she became under-secretary for rural, economic and community development at the Department of Agriculture.