Mark Long’s Elvis gigs have been many and varied.
Long at his day job .
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“At IU, they say I’m the ‘king of technology,’ so I guess that meshes with being the ‘king of Rock ’n’ Roll,’” said Mark Long, president and CEO of the IU Research and Technology Corporation (IURTC), as he explains his avocation as an Elvis impersonator.
Long caught the Elvis bug from his mother when he was age 5. “She was an Elvis nut. My father was a minister, and after Sunday night services, when everyone left, Mom would play the piano, and I would get up front with the microphone and sing ‘Blue Suede Shoes,’” he said.
The Knox, Ind., native got serious about impersonating Elvis when he was 22 years old. A friend asked him to perform at his wedding. Since then, Long’s gigs have been many and varied.
“I do a little bit of everything. Mostly birthday parties, weddings and anniversaries, general parties. I even sang to President (Adam) Herbert on his birthday,” said Long.
He once won an annual Elvis competition in St. Louis, where he was serving as director of technical operations at Washington University’s Technology and Business Development Center.
Long and his family returned to Indiana in 2002, when he assumed the leadership of IU’s Advanced Research and Technology Institute, which was renamed IURTC in September 2004.
Are professional colleagues surprised when they find out about his hobby?
“To say the least,” he replied. “I guess it doesn’t quite fit with a polished image. I try to keep a sense of humor in my job and have fun at it—it makes for a more pleasant atmosphere to work in. My employees get a big kick out of it.”
Related story:
Elvis slept here
Read about other outstanding IU employees:
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