Fifth President of Ripon College, 1910-1917 & 1921-1943

Silas Evans, a graduate of Ripon College (class of 1898), Princeton University, and Princeton Theological Seminary, retired as teacher of Greek and Hebrew at the University of Wisconsin to accept the presidency of his alma mater in 1911. During the next 32 years (except for a stint as president of Occidental College in California from 1917 to 1921), the name of Silas Evans was virtually synonymous with Ripon College. Under his leadership, the College grew to full maturity; preparatory classes were dropped for good in 1913. In spite of the Great Depression, he continued to build the College's physical capacities by adding Lane Library, the Tri-Dorms, and the Harwood Memorial Union. Respected and loved by generations of Ripon students, faculty, and friends, Dr. Evans was honored by the board of trustees with an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters upon his retirement in 1943. Three of his children also attended Ripon.