May 19, 2010
Evans to join College of Education-Human Services
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Andrea E. Evans, associate professor of educational administration at Northern Illinois University and vice president of professional development for ExcelNow! Educational Services, will become chair of the Department of Educational Administration and Higher Education at Southern Illinois University Carbondale Aug. 16.
“We are very pleased that Andrea Evans will be joining us because she brings the kind of experience in and scholarly approach to educational administration that we were looking for,” said Kenneth Teitelbaum, dean of SIUC’s College of Education and Human Services. “Andrea also brings strong leadership skills and an understanding of national and state educational politics that will help the department to continue to address the significant challenges that will be facing school administrators and college student personnel in the years ahead.”
Evans said the department’s emphasis on leadership development -- from kindergarten through graduate school -- piqued her interest from the start. “It was the overarching theme when I interviewed, and that’s where my research focuses,” she noted.
As chair, Evans will serve as her department’s chief administrative and fiscal officer, overseeing academic matters, research activity, faculty development and evaluation, service activities and student recruitment and retention. She also will develop and maintain partnerships with schools and preschools, colleges and other universities, and outside agencies.
While at NIU, Evans chaired the educational administration program, managing an area with more than 500 students, four degree and three certification programs, and six off-campus locations. Before beginning her university career, Evans was the first director of TALENTS Alternative High School in Maywood and served as math and science coordinator for Bloom Trail High School in Chicago Heights. She also taught biology and chemistry in Chicago area schools.
Evans’ company, a Chicago corporation, assists public schools with needs assessments, teacher and principal development, parent involvement, student mentoring and grant application writing. She developed a number of workshops aimed at honing the skills of school principals for clients such as the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association, the Governors State University Principal Mentoring Program and the Illinois Administrators Academy.
Evans said new mandates from the state regarding the preparation of school principals will make curriculum examination, evaluation and revision a priority for the department. She also plans to get to know the region’s superintendents. “That way we can we can better meet the needs of their schools and communities,” she said.
In addition, Evans wants to work on marketing the department’s higher education program.
“It’s unique in a lot of ways, and the faculty is widely known and respected outside of Illinois,” she said. “We want people across the state to know about it.”
Evans serves as president of the Black Alumni Advisory Council and as vice president of the College of Education Alumni Council for the University of Illinois at Chicago. She hopes to build a database of her new department’s alumni and build relationships with them.
“So many of them are leaders,” Evans said. “We need them as advisers on the current program and as mentors for people who are entering the field.”
Evans is a two-degree graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago, earning her bachelor’s degree in 1989 and her doctorate in 2004. In addition, she has a master’s degree from DePaul University, awarded in 1994.