Renaming of the Voices of Inclusion Award to the Nancy J. Evans Voices of Inclusion Award

During our 100th Anniversary year, the ACPA Governing Board is honored to announce the renaming of the Voices of Inclusion Award to the Nancy J. Evans Voices of Inclusion Award.

Dr. Nancy J. Evans was the 62nd President of ACPA from 2001-2002 and established the Voices of Inclusion Award during her term. This award stemmed from her vast work in social justice that, in particular, raised awareness of the need for disability services and support. The award recognizes members who use their voices to make their campuses, our Association, and the field more equitable, inclusive, and just places.

In 2006, Evans was awarded the ACPA Voices of Inclusion Award for her work on social justice in higher education. Her work has included numerous campus and association committees addressing disability awareness and LGBTQIA+ services, teaching multiple courses focusing on social justice theory, publishing several books and monographs centering disability and LGBTQIA+ services and a plethora of national referred presentations and lectures. ACPA honored her entire body of work with the ACPA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.

Dr. Evans provided leadership and service throughout her career in higher education as a Professor at Iowa State University (1997-2013), Associate Professor at Pennsylvania State University (1993-1997), Associate Professor at Western Illinois University (1985-1993), and Assistant Professor at Indiana University (1980-1985).

Dr. Evans’ journey with ACPA began in 1972 during her doctoral work. She was introduced to the Association by her advisor, Dick Caple. Her first involvement with ACPA was with the Commission for Professional Preparation; she eventually chaired the Commission in 1986-1988. She also served on the Commission for Assessment and Evaluation, the Commission for Housing and Residential Life and the Task Force on Assessment and Evaluation in Residence Life. In 1987, she began serving on the Editorial Board for the Journal of College Student Development.

Evans was named an Annuit Coeptis Senior Professional in 1989, served as a Senior Trainer and Evaluation Coordinator for the Beyond Tolerance Roadshow from 1993-1995, received the ACPA Contribution to Knowledge Award in 1998, was a Senior Scholar from 1998-2004, and coordinated the Emerging Scholars Program from 1999-2000. Evans was awarded the Richard Caple Award by the Missouri College Personnel Association in 2001 and was named an ACPA Diamond Honoree in 2002. She served as Editor of ACPA Books and Media for three years and as a member of the convention planning team and co-chair of the Next Generation conference at the 2009 convention in metro Washington, D.C.. She served as an ACPA representative to the ACPA/NASPA task force that wrote Learning Reconsidered: An Action Agenda (2002-2004).

At Iowa State University, Evans was instrumental in the development of a Higher Education doctoral concentration in Social Justice and infusing a social justice perspective in the master’s program in Student Affairs. She is particularly proud of the 33 doctoral students she advised and whose dissertations she chaired as well as the 262 master’s students she advised throughout her academic career. Later in her career, Evans continued to be an active scholar, publishing a number of books and articles, including a second edition of Student Development in College in 2010 and Disability in College: A Social Justice Approach in 2017.

Since her retirement from Iowa State in 2017, Evans has continued her research and scholarship focusing on the impact of the environment on disabled students in higher education. She has also been actively using her MFA in Theatre, serving as a Board member and dramaturg for Story Theater Company, a children’s theater for youth from 9-18 years of age and engaged with her church community.

We congratulate Dr. Evans on leading a life, engaging in a career, and leaving a legacy that is an inspiration for us all. It is our distinct pleasure to name the Nancy J. Evans Voices of Inclusion Award in her honor.

The 2024 recipient(s) of the newly renamed Nancy J. Evans Voices of Inclusion Award will be recognized at the ACPA24 Convention in Chicago, Illinois on 18-21 March 2024.

-2023-2024 ACPA Governing Board