Checkmate: Interim Provost Brings Strategic Vision

Oliver Evans, Mary Baldwin University’s interim provost, believes his greatest accomplishment is yet to come. He’s no stranger to achievement however, and has already mastered a career in higher education for the better part of 40 years.

Coming out of retirement to accept the position of interim provost, Evans saw potential in the university’s future.

“As I approached retirement, I applied to become a member of The Registry for College and University Presidents, an organization that places retired college administrators in interim positions in institutions that are making strategic changes and would like to draw upon the experience of someone like me to work on a temporary basis,” Evans said. “I was fortunate to secure the position of interim provost at Mary Baldwin as it made the transition from a college to a university. That transition to being a university is a major strategic decision.”

Evans’ has modeled his career around a mission statement: “To use any opportunity to enhance the quality of a student’s education.” With the students’ futures in mind, Evans’ makes it his personal challenge every day to meet that goal.

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Oliver Evans, Mary Baldwin University’s Interim Provost

Evans’ earned his bachelor’s degree in English from Albion College and his MA and PhD in English from Purdue University. Teaching communications and English dominated the early part of his career, and since then he’s added administration appointments to his resume. Mary Baldwin welcomed Evans at the start of the 2016-17 academic year while the university searches for a permanent provost.

Evans replaces Catharine O’Connell, former vice president of academic affairs and dean of the college, who left Mary Baldwin this summer to become to become provost and dean of the college at Illinois College in Jacksonville, Illinois. Evans’ arrival coincided with an academic restructuring at Mary Baldwin, with the appointment of deans for each of four academic colleges who work closely with the provost.

Married for 45 years, Evans met his wife while they were attending Purdue University. Like her husband, Eileen Evans’ accomplishments in academia range over three decades of service. She taught at Western Michigan University for 32 years and retired as vice provost for institutional effectiveness and an associate professor of English.

Evans credits his wife for continued support of his career choices and for embracing the obstacles.

“We’ve always welcomed the challenges inherent in having two careers and in discovering how we could make our personal and professional lives work together,” Evans explained.

While Evans’ life isn’t anywhere near what he thought it would be when he was young, he has nothing but gratitude for how it turned out.

“If I could go back and tell my 25-year-old self something it would be that life is much more improvisational than planned,” Evans said.

Outside of work Evans immerses himself in the arts. With a passion for Shakespeare and music, Evans has found that Mary Baldwin and the Queen City of Staunton are ideal places to expand upon his interest.

“With the Blackfriars Playhouse nearby, I am having a wonderful time pursuing my interest in Shakespeare,” he said. “The Heifetz Institute is beyond belief for anyone who loves music.”

However, on any given night Evans says you will usually find him playing a game of online chess, his hobby of choice.

Evans sees major potential for the Mary Baldwin University in the next five years.

“I think one of the things about being a university is that it allows the institution to serve a wide range of students. Already, it is serving people in the PEG program and nontraditional students, along with students earning their undergraduate and doctorate degrees. I think it will expand on all of those. I am hoping it will expand on online opportunities as well,” Evans said.