Professional Biography

Dr. Marcheta Evans became the 12th president of St. Catherine University on July 15, 2024. She holds the distinction of being the institution’s first African American president.

 

Before assuming her leadership of St. Catherine University, Evans served as Chancellor of Bloomfield College of Montclair State University. Prior to Bloomfield’s historic merger with Montclair State University, she had led Bloomfield College as its 17th President starting in 2019; she was both the first African-American and first female to lead the College.

 

Evans brings 30-plus years of transformational leadership roles in higher education to her St. Kate’s presidency. Her professional journey spans both public and private institutions, with the majority of them spent at Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) in the seventh largest city in the United States, San Antonio, Texas. In 2016 she was named Provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU). At University of Texas at San Antonio (USTA), Evans was named Associate Dean and Department Chair in 2013, the culmination of a series of leadership roles at that institution which began in 2002. Her academic roots also run deep, with more than 27 years a faculty member at OLLU, USTA, and Auburn University – Montgomery. She rose to the rank of full Professor in 2014.

 

As a member of the American Counseling Association, Evans has served in the past as President and Fellow of the national chapter and is a past President of the Association for Creativity in Counseling. She has received a number of awards and recognitions throughout her career, including the Outstanding Multicultural Leadership Award from the National Diversity Council, the Yellow Rose of Texas Lifetime Educator Award, and the Counselors for Social Justice ‘Ohana Award. She was the Presidential Sponsor for the American Council on Education’s Women’s Network New Jersey.

 

Evans has authored numerous articles and book chapters that explore issues of diversity, multiculturalism, women’s issues and leadership, and has presented more than one hundred times at state, regional, national and international conferences. Her professional focus has taken Evans around the world, including Malawi where she worked with educators and counselors on literacy initiatives sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

 

Evans graduated from the University of Alabama with a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Counselor Education and Supervision, specializing in Student Affairs, Administration in Higher Education, and Human Resource Management. She also holds a Master of Arts degree in Education in Elementary Education from the University of Alabama-Birmingham, a Master of Arts degree in Rehabilitation Counseling, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Alabama.

 

Evans and her husband, Edgar, are exceedingly proud parents of six children and are delighted to count 13 grandchildren in their family.