William F. Evans

William F. “Bill” Evans is a native of Winnsboro, South Carolina. He holds degrees from Wofford College (BA, 1976), Duke University (MDiv, 1979), and the University of South Carolina (EdS, 1993, and PhD, 1998). For 20 years, Evans served as a pastor with The United Methodist Church in North Carolina and South Carolina. He also served as a hospital chaplain at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, and as a pastoral counselor at Baptist Medical Center in Columbia, South Carolina. Evans served in the United States Air Force/Air National Guard as a Chaplain from 1984 until retiring from the South Carolina Air National Guard as a Brigadier General in 2010.

Evans is a professor of psychology at James Madison University, where he has taught since 1994. He teaches various developmental and leadership courses as well as cross-cultural psychology in Austria and Italy each summer. He also serves on the International Advisory Board of the Viktor Frankl Institute in Vienna, Austria. Evans is an active member in the International Leadership Association, and he has presented internationally in Austria, Canada, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Israel, Italy, Russia, and the Czech Republic. He is the faculty advisor for several student service organizations at JMU.

Evans has been recognized at James Madison University with awards that include the SOAR Award for Outstanding Faculty/Staff of the Year, 2025; the Roberts’ Award for faculty excellence, 2024; the Alger Family Faculty Endowment Award for outstanding community engagement, 2019; induction into the Inaugural Class of the JMU Purple and Gold Society for outstanding leadership, 2018; the JMU Career and Academic Planning “Make Your Next Move Award” for outstanding career advising, 2013; the Hall Award for outstanding faculty leadership and service, 2008 and 2002; the JMU Bluestone Award for outstanding faculty advising, 2006; the JMU “All Together One” Award for community impact, 2004; the JMU Alpha Phi Foundation Professor of the Year, 2000; the JMU Mortar Board Class of 2000; and induction into the Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Society, 1996.

Evans is a co-author of several books: Inspiring Leadership (2006), Becoming a Community Counselor (2008), Thriving! (3rd ed., 2016), and Leadership: From Integrity to Impact (2021). Meaningful Moments is his first solo work.