Kenyon bids farewell to retiring professors
Issue date: 4/30/09 Section: Features
Michael Evans
Professor Emeritus of Humanities and History
Professor Emeritus of Humanities and History Michael Evans joined Kenyon's history department in 1965 and has since served as an active member of Kenyon's faculty for longer than any of his predecessors. In 1975, he co-founded the Integrated Program in Humane Studies (IPHS), for which he has served as director from 2001 to 2008. A specialist in the Italian Renaissance, Evans has spent much of his career studying the writing and philosophy of Niccolò Machiavelli.
"[Evans] was a master of the seminar, as generations can gratefully testify," Professor of Humanities Timothy Shutt said. "As Director of IPHS, he was a mentor and inspiration to us all."
"In over 40 years of teaching at Kenyon, Professor Evans was a remarkably successful teacher, especially as a leader of seminars and class discussions on a formidable array of demanding topics in history and the humanities," Associate Professor of History and Humanities Matthew Maguire said.
Over the course of his many years at Kenyon, Evans has seen the College undergo great change but is optimistic about the direction the school is headed.
"In the last few years it seems to me that there has been more of an intellectual culture in the faculty and student body," Evans said. "That is something that I have not always thought to be the case, and I've seen that improving in the past five to ten years. It's something that I see as critical to the health and vitality of the College."
"I love teaching, and [Kenyon] is a great liberal arts college," he said. "It has been a wonderful place to spend a career."
Evans is currently living in Arizona "relaxing [and] enjoying the sunlight and the warm weather," he said. "I don't quite feel retired yet. I keep feeling like I'm on a long vacation."
The Michael J. Evans Seminar Room, built with donations from former students to honor Evans and his contributions to their lives and to Kenyon, will be opened in Timberlake House next week.
Professor Emeritus of Humanities and History
Professor Emeritus of Humanities and History Michael Evans joined Kenyon's history department in 1965 and has since served as an active member of Kenyon's faculty for longer than any of his predecessors. In 1975, he co-founded the Integrated Program in Humane Studies (IPHS), for which he has served as director from 2001 to 2008. A specialist in the Italian Renaissance, Evans has spent much of his career studying the writing and philosophy of Niccolò Machiavelli.
"[Evans] was a master of the seminar, as generations can gratefully testify," Professor of Humanities Timothy Shutt said. "As Director of IPHS, he was a mentor and inspiration to us all."
"In over 40 years of teaching at Kenyon, Professor Evans was a remarkably successful teacher, especially as a leader of seminars and class discussions on a formidable array of demanding topics in history and the humanities," Associate Professor of History and Humanities Matthew Maguire said.
Over the course of his many years at Kenyon, Evans has seen the College undergo great change but is optimistic about the direction the school is headed.
"In the last few years it seems to me that there has been more of an intellectual culture in the faculty and student body," Evans said. "That is something that I have not always thought to be the case, and I've seen that improving in the past five to ten years. It's something that I see as critical to the health and vitality of the College."
"I love teaching, and [Kenyon] is a great liberal arts college," he said. "It has been a wonderful place to spend a career."
Evans is currently living in Arizona "relaxing [and] enjoying the sunlight and the warm weather," he said. "I don't quite feel retired yet. I keep feeling like I'm on a long vacation."
The Michael J. Evans Seminar Room, built with donations from former students to honor Evans and his contributions to their lives and to Kenyon, will be opened in Timberlake House next week.
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