Dr. Marcheta Evans Installed as Bloomfield College President

Dr. Marcheta Evans during her installation ceremony on Friday, December 6. (Credit: Roy Groething Photography)

In a ceremony resonant with personal stories, soaring music, warm advice to students, and exuberant leadership, Dr. Marcheta Evans became the seventeenth president- and the first woman and African American - to hold the highest office at Bloomfield College in Bloomfield, NJ. The live-streamed celebration took place Friday, December 6, with hundreds of faculty, students, and guests filling the Bloomfield High School auditorium.

"We are dedicated to providing access to those who have been excluded...to prepare students for excellence in a multi-cultural and global society. This is why my husband and I moved from Texas to Bloomfield, NJ," said Dr. Evans.

Speaking of her choice to seek a college presidency, Dr. Evan's recounted, "I became dedicated to reaching this mountaintop. The primary purpose was to be a role model; it was for the students to see me and say, I can do this."

Dr. Evans was raised in Mobile, Alabama, in the 1960s. "We thought we were poor, but poverty was a word that was never spoken. The language of our home was 'love, resiliency, faith, and the importance of our education."

Acknowledging family members in the audience and several life-long friends on stage, Dr. Evan's projected a collaborative view of leadership. "It takes a village. We never become who we are meant to be, by ourselves. Friendships will help mold who you are. Do not take these relationships for granted."

Installation of Dr. Marcheta Evans as Bloomfield College President. (Credit: Roy Groething Photography)

She also challenged the audience to help her chart the future of the 4-year independent liberal arts institution comprising 1800 students, 92% of whom are full-time and 83% are students of color. "Thank you for not just pushing me luck. We need support and active participation. "We will decide together who we want to become."

Dr. Evans served most recently as Provost and VP Academic Affairs at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, as well as fourteen years as Associate Dean and Associate Professor at The University of Texas, San Antonio. She received BS, MS, MA, and PhD. degrees from the University of Alabama.

Speakers and performers included Vernon Endo, Chair of the Presidential Transition Committee, composer and violinist Diane Monroe; tenor Everett Suttle, and student council president Dreiana Halley. A young member of the Newark Boys Chorus delivered a clear-voiced introduction to the closing choral performance, enjoining the audience to "never under-estimate the power of giving hope to a child."