Sharon Evans, longtime member of the Clark State College Board of Trustees, was awarded the Maureen C. Grady Award for Special Achievement by the Ohio Association of Community Colleges (OACC).
First presented to its namesake in 1994, the Maureen C. Grady Award for Special Achievement recognizes the extraordinary leadership and contributions of those trustees who receive this award. Serving as an example for all trustees to emulate, Grady dedicated much of her life to furthering the mission of community colleges in Ohio and throughout the nation.
A former trustee of Clark State Community College for fifteen years, Grady also served on the Foundation Board from 2001-2007. She was the first Chairperson for the OACC from 1993 to 1994. Trustees who have been selected as recipients of this award embody the qualities and characteristics Grady demonstrated during her years of service.
“I am absolutely thrilled,” said Evans. “Maureen Grady was an amazing leader at Clark State and with OACC. I am truly honored to receive this award. This is a team award because it reflects the positively outstanding performance of the Clark State faculty, staff, and board.”
Evans has served on the Clark State Board of Trustees for 18 years. She has served as Chair, Vice Chair, and on multiple committees during her tenure. She was reappointed to the Board by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine in 2022.
Under Evans’ leadership as Chair, Clark State received the AACC Award for Outstanding Board/CEO Relationship.
“Sharon Evans puts the ‘community’ in ‘community college,’” said Dr. Jo Alice Blondin, president of Clark State. “As a woman who believes strongly in the people of our community, she is a cheerleader for community colleges. She attends nearly every college event at Clark State and is the first in line to celebrate student accomplishments.”
Blondin said Evans has led numerous innovations around student success, diversity, and equity at Clark State, and, as chair, led the Board of Trustees in setting high-level diversity goals for the campus.
“Sharon also began a tradition at every Clark State Board meeting,” she said. “She asked that a student tell their story at the beginning of every meeting so that the Board and attendees could focus on what matters most in their collective work.
In addition to serving Clark State, Evans volunteers her time in the community in numerous other ways. She is the Director of the Christian Counseling Program at Greater Grace Temple; she is also the Vice Chair of the Greater Grace Temple Board of Directors and serves as the Treasurer of the Next Generation Academy.
Previously, she has served as the President of the Springfield Chapter of the Links, a national women’s service organization which focuses on services to youth, national and international trends, and the arts, and as the President of the Springfield Chapter of Central State University Alumni. Sharon is a retired Air Force Contracting Officer (GS-15) with over 36 years of diverse procurement experience and was honored with the Air Force Outstanding Civilian –Supervisory Contract Specialist award.
“Sharon Evans is the embodiment of a servant leader,” said Blondin. “Her leadership as a trustee and Board Chair have been both exemplary and peerless. Clark State could not have achieved what it has without the guidance and strong voice of Sharon Evans.”