Evans, Lawrence (Lawrence Gove), 1935-2011
Dates
- Existence: 1935 - 2011
Biography
Lawrence Gove Evans, for forty years a professor in the English Department at Northwestern University, was born on June 29, 1935 in Waterbury, Connecticut. He attended Bates College with a full tuition scholarship and received his B.A. in English and Philosophy in 1956. During his days at Bates, he was named Phi Beta Kappa in his junior year and rated the first-ranking male student all four years. Evans did his graduate work at Harvard University, receiving an M.A. in English in 1957 and a Ph.D. in 1961 with a dissertation titled “Some Letters of Walter Pater.” His honors at Harvard included a University Scholarship (1956-57); a Leman Scholarship; a two-time Charles Dexter Fellowship (1959, 1960); and the Frank Knox Memorial Fellowship (1960-1961). His teaching career began during graduate school as a Teaching Fellow (1957-1960), and after receiving his doctorate he taught at Harvard as an instructor of English until 1962.
In 1962, Evans accepted a position as Instructor at Northwestern University. He was promoted to Assistant Professor in 1963, and to Associate Professor in 1971. At Northwestern, Evans taught courses in the English Department ranging from freshman seminars and introductory English literatures courses to graduate seminars in his area of interest, late Victorian literature, and served on numerous doctoral committees.
He coordinated Northwestern University's Evening Divisions' English courses starting in 1969, and was the Director of Undergraduate Studies in English. In addition to his teaching duties, he participated as a member of the Undergraduate and Graduate Committees of the English Department, on the General Faculty Committee, and served on the Budget and Resources Advisory Committee. He was a faculty associate at Willard Residential College (1980), and held a leadership position in the American Association of University Professors. In 1968 he was a Visiting Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He took a leave of absence from Northwestern in 1975-1976 to research the relationship between Victorian church history and literature. His edited Letters of Walter Pater was published in 1970.
Evans retired from Northwestern University in 2001, and was elected to emeritus status on September 1, 2001.
Evans died Sunday, November 20, 2011, in Chicago.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Lawrence G. Evans (1935-2011) Papers
The Lawrence Evans Papers fill twenty-two boxes and span the years 1956 to 1999. The papers consist of Evans' notes from Harvard classes, correspondence relating to Northwestern, teaching files, correspondence with and about students, graduate student files, biographical information, committee and professional association records, course files, and publication files. The bulk of the papers document Evans' 40 year teaching career as professor of English at Northwestern University.