Not a Tar Heel Born, But ...
Posted on July 10, 2010John Parkhill “Jack” Evans was born in Indiana, not North Carolina, and he didn’t attend Carolina — his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees all came from Cornell.
Doug Dibbert ’70
But no one ever challenges Jack when he proudly boasts, “I’m a Tar Heel.”
Jack Evans’ 40-plus-year career at Carolina is an inspiring example of how Chapel Hill and our University attracts, engages and retains so many faculty, administrators and staff whose professional credentials permit them regular opportunities to work elsewhere but who choose to remain and contribute so much to UNC.
Jack joined the business school’s faculty on Jan. 1, 1970, as an associate professor, and by fall 1973 he was a full professor. For the past decade, he has been the Phillip Hettleman Professor of business administration in the Kenan-Flagler Business School. To Carolina’s great benefit, Jack Evans also has been a stellar performer and contributor outside the business school classroom.
Then-Chancellor N. Ferebee Taylor ’42 named Evans as his special assistant for planning in 1974 — a role in which he served for three years. After serving as associate dean for academic programs and acting dean, Evans was named dean of the business school in 1979 and served for eight years. (A decade later, he served as the school’s interim dean for three months and again, in 2003, he served as interim dean for a month.)
While the business school recruited him to Carolina, Jack Evans’ fingerprints are all over Chapel Hill and our campus. For 18 months, he served as interim vice chancellor for finance and administration, and for more than 30 months he served as special assistant to the chancellor under James Moeser. Since August 2006, he has served as executive director of Carolina North, skillfully working with town and University officials along with members of the Board of Trustees to clear the way for the development of Carolina’s future campus expansion.
Jack has just concluded serving for 15 years as UNC’s faculty athletics representative to the Atlantic Coast Conference and National Collegiate Athletic Association. He was appointed to represent the ACC on the NCAA Management Council (2001-07) and served as president of the ACC (2006-07 and 1998-99).
Given his vast experience and keen judgment, Jack often has been invited to serve on search committees for key positions, including for ACC commissioner, UNC director of athletics, vice chancellor for information technology, vice chancellor for finance and administration, dean of the law school and vice chancellor for business and finance.
Space doesn’t allow for a listing of Jack’s supported projects and grants, his many conference and symposia presentations, his voluminous publications and technical reports, and all his professional and civic activities. He has earned the University’s C. Knox Massey Award, the GAA’s Faculty Service Award, membership in the Order of the Golden Fleece and the Kenan-Flagler Business School’s Roy W. Holsten ’50 Distinguished Service Award and its Hugh ’57 and Jane McColl Faculty Development Award. Nor is there space to enumerate all of the contributions to Chapel Hill and to Carolina made by his wife, Pat, who has served on the Chapel Hill Town Council and the Chapel Hill Planning Board.
What Jack Evans understands and what has guided him throughout his twoscore years at Carolina is our University’s unique culture and enduring values. He collaborates easily and enthusiastically.Whether helping to recruit a student athlete, a student to the business school, a new faculty member or an administrator, Jack reflects a keen knowledge of Carolina and is an effective and persuasive ambassador and diplomat. Consistently, Jack has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to do what is best for our University without concern for personal benefit.
Few have served with such distinction in as many roles impacting as many areas of Carolina while also being such an effective ambassador for Carolina. However, Jack Evans would be the first to volunteer that he is but one of many who, although neither Tar Heel born nor UNC educated, attest that their blood runs Carolina blue and who will forever proudly boast, “I am a Tar Heel.” How fortunate and better our University is that such remarkably talented public servants found their way here and have remained.
Yours at Carolina,
Douglas S. Dibbert ’70
