Dr. Evans is a Professor of Black Women’s Studies in the Institute for Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) and affiliate faculty of Africana Studies (AAS) at Georgia State University. She served twelve consecutive years as department chair at Georgia State University, Clark Atlanta University, and University of Florida.
Dr. Evans has sustained a research interest in Black women’s intellectual history for over two decades. Her research is rooted in educational history but has evolved to include mental health and wellness as a way to address systemic stressors of being department chair. She began studying Black women’s wellness in 2013 and expanded her research on memoirs from investigating “the life of the mind” to practicing the life of the mind, body, and spirit. In her writing, teaching, and speaking, she works to share how Black women elders—especially educators—have navigated the relentless demands of academe.
Dr. Evans is editor of the Black Women’s Wellness book series at SUNY Press and has published four single-authored books: · Black Feminist Writing: A Practical Guide to Publishing Academic Books (SUNY, 2024)· Black Women’s Yoga History: Memoirs of Inner Peace (SUNY, 2021)· Black Passports: Travel Memoirs as a Tool for Youth Empowerment (SUNY, 2014)· Black Women in the Ivory Tower, 1850-1954: An Intellectual History (UF, 2007)
She is also lead co-editor of five books:· Dear Department Chair: Letters from Black Women Leaders to the Next Generation (Wayne State, 2023)· Black Women and Public Health: Strategies to Name, Locate, and Change Systems of Power (2022)· Black Women and Social Justice Education: Legacies and Lessons (SUNY, 2019)· Black Women’s Mental Health: Balancing Strength and Vulnerability (SUNY Press, 2017)· African Americans and Community Engagement in Higher Education (SUNY, 2009).
View the full portfolio for Dr. Evans at https://professorevans.net/.