A 27-year St. Johns River State College employee is moving on to a new opportunity in a neighboring county, but he and others won’t forget the lasting impact he made on the college.
Gilbert Evans Jr., a former English teacher, vice president for student affairs and vice president of legal affairs for the college, worked his last day at the Palatka campus Aug. 8.
“You know, I’m not even a crybaby, but I found myself even shedding tears an hour ago because this has been my life, professionally,” Evans said on his last day.
He sat in his office last week flipping through old photos of him on his first day teaching English in 1993 and him talking to a Palatka High School class when he was responsible for outreach programs.
Evans is leaving SJR State to be the new Volusia County School Board legal counsel.
“It’s bittersweet because I’ve spent (27) years (here),” Evans said Aug. 8. “It just hit me today. … I’ve seen many people come and go, and now I’m going.”
Evans said he could definitely see himself returning someday. Evans’ ties to the community ran deep, as he is a member of the Rotary Club of Palatka, chairman of the Palatka Housing Authority’s board of commissioners and bishop of the Palatka House of God Church.
His time with SJR State began before 1993, having attended the college – when it was still St. Johns River Community College – the summer he graduated from Crescent City High School in 1988. While attending SJR State, he was vice president of the student council and president of the Florida Future Educators of America program.
Evans obtained his associate degree from SJR State, he said, before attending Florida State University, where he earned a bachelor’s in English and a master’s degree in administration.
Evans thanked his former high school teachers Rita Hooten and Gail Williams for inspiring him to pursue his degrees.
Evans said he worked as an English teacher at SJR State for six years. He obtained a Ph.D. in higher education administration from the University of Florida while working at the college, and eventually earned his law degree in 1999 from the University of Florida Levin College of Law.
The former teacher practiced law in Orlando for three years until he got a call from former SJR State President Robert L. McLendon Jr., who asked Evans to return.
“I already worked here for six years prior to going to law school, and Dr. McLendon told me to come home,” Evans said. “And when Dr. McLendon gives you a command … you come.”
He called McLendon, who served as president for 36 years, his role model.
“(McLendon) was one of the greatest academicians and leaders I’ve ever worked with,” Evans said.
Following Evans’ return to the college, he served for 18 years as vice president of student affairs, where he covered everything from recruitment to retention to financial aid and counseling services, he said.
“No two days were the same, and student affairs is about meeting the needs of the students,” he said. “It’s a very unique animal. It takes a special person to run student affairs. … It’s about meeting the student where they are and helping them to resolve their problems.”
Evans became the vice president of legal affairs in 2021. He’s seen plenty of employees come and go, one of which is his retired administrative assistant, Sharon Silcox, who worked with him for 18 years.
She said Evans was one of the best bosses she has ever had.
“Everybody was like family with him,” she said Wednesday. “You could go to him about anything.”
While he enforced rules, Silcox said, Evans had an open-door policy and took the time to listen to anyone who walked through his door. He also understood the importance of family, she said.
“It was always, ‘Your family comes first. That’s what we’re here for,’” Silcox said.
She made sure to visit him on his last day on campus. The retired assistant said she hated to see Evans go but knows he has a great opportunity in Volusia County.
SJR State President Joe Pickens said Evans's opportunity in Volusia County is unique, and he respects his desire to pursue it. The president wishes Evans nothing but the best and knows he’ll succeed.
“Dr. Evans is one of the finest human beings that I have ever met,” Pickens said. “His dedication to the college for almost three decades is something I’ll always treasure.”
