About Dr. Meg Evans

Dr. Meg Evans (they/them) is an assistant professor of Higher and Adult Education in the Department of Leadership at the University of Memphis. Dr. Evans brings nearly twenty years of student affairs practitioner and consulting experience to Memphis, working in housing/residence life, identity-based centers, and doing justice-based educational consulting.

Dr. Evans’ research centers advocacy, activism, and resistance practices in higher education. They have co-authored a book titled, Identity-based student activism: Power and oppression on college campuses and are awaiting the publication of their second co-authored book (slated for a May 2025 release) highlighting the experiences of fat and fat-bodied college students. Dr. Evans’ scholarship has been published in a variety of journals including Departures in Critical Qualitative Research, Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, New Directions for Student Services, International Journal of Coaching and Mentoring in Education, Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, and The Peabody Journal of Education. They are also the co-creator of the White Racial Engagement Model (WREM), a tool to help white people reflect thoughtfully on their connections to whiteness and to act reflexively to advance racial justice.

In addition to student/faculty/staff activism research, Dr. Evans’ scholarly (and personal) interests revolve around women/trans/non-binary athletes. As a former collegiate soccer player and women’s professional football player, they are interested in better understanding the college-to-professional pipeline for women and trans collegiate athletes, how to enhance a sense of belonging after injury, and the power of sport for women and trans student-athletes.

Dr. Evans serves on the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS.edu) as the representative for the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resources Professionals (lgbtcampus.org), and they are on the board for the national IMPACT Conference (impactconference.org). They currently serve as a reviewer for several higher education journals.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy, College Student Affairs Administration, University of Georgia

Master of Science, Community Leadership, Duquesne University

Bachelor of Arts, Outdoor Leadership, Warren Wilson College

Selected Publications

Evans, M. E., & Wallace, J.K. (2024). No longer cast aside: A critical approach to serving queer and trans students of Color in higher education. In D. Mitchell Jr., Marie, J., & Carver, P. P. (Eds.) Intersectionality & higher education: Theory, research, and praxis (3rd ed.). Peter Lang.

Evans, M. E., & Wallace, J. K. (2023). Considering sexual identity in supervision. In R. M. Nasser Jr. (Ed.), Identity in supervision: Understanding who works for you and who you work for in higher education (pp. 115-134). Information Age Publishing.

Whitehead, M.A., Weston, E., & Evans, M.E. (2022). The white racial engagement model: Unlearning the oppressive conditioning of whiteness. In Z. Foste & T. L. Tevis (Eds.), Critical whiteness praxis in higher education: Considerations for the pursuit of racial justice on campus (pp. 224-244). Stylus Publishing, LLC.

Evans, M. E., & Stewart, T. J. (2021). Strategies for supervising student and staff activists on college campuses. New Directions for Student Services, 2021, 63-71. DOI: 10.1002/ss.20397 

Evans, M.E. (2021). LGBTQ+ Campus Resource Centers. In K. K. Struck & S. A. Sheldon (Eds.), Encyclopedia of queer studies in education. Brill Publishing.

Evans, M.E., Taylor, R. M., McCloud, L. I., & Burr, K. (2021). Exploring the role of faculty and staff mentors in fostering ethical leadership among undergraduate students: “We have to narrow the distance." International Journal of Coaching and Mentoring in Education, Vol. ahead-of-print (No. ahead-of-print). DOI: 10.1108/IJMCE-09-2020- 0058

Evans, M. E., Mosley, J. E., & Fay, J. (2021). Institutional responses to sexual misconduct and assault on college campuses. In R. M. Taylor & A. F. Kuntz (Eds.) Ethics in higher education: Promoting equity and inclusion through case-based practice. Harvard Education Press. 

Evans, M. E., & Lange, A. C. (2019). Supporting student activists: An appreciative inquiry. In G. M. Martin, C. Linder, & B. M. Williams (Eds.) Leadership learning through activism. New Directions for Student Leadership. Jossey-Bass.