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From Foundation to Future
Evans leaves egacy of civic leadership as ADP passes the baton
By Nancy Prescott
In the early 2000s, as public discourse in America grew more divided and questions about civic literacy mounted, a quiet movement took root in higher education—a movement that would soon find a powerful advocate at MTSU.
It was 2004 when then-Provost Kaylene Gebert and fellow historian Jim Williams, head of the campus American Democracy Project (ADP) and incoming director of MTSU’s Albert Gore Research Center, extended an invitation to Mary A. Evins. They asked her to attend a national ADP conference in Baltimore, a gathering of educators committed to reenergizing democratic engagement through public education.
The American Democracy Project, launched just a year earlier by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), was designed to unite institutions in a common goal: preparing students to be informed, active participants in the nation’s participatory democracy. MTSU had joined the movement early. Current MTSU Provost Mark Byrnes served as the founding campus director of ADP, and Williams was the second. Under their leadership—and with Gebert’s vision from the Provost’s Office—MTSU was laying a solid foundation for the work ahead.
That conference in Baltimore would change everything for Evins. What she witnessed there—a passionate network of educators seeking to instill civic agency in young people—resonated deeply. She joined the effort soon after. By 2008, she became MTSU’s third ADP director, and the University’s role in civic engagement would never be the same.
“I was swept away by that conference,” Evins said. “It was filled with passionate faculty focusing on teaching for meaning. It provided a framework and structure for what I knew in my core to be true, that civic learning is potent best practice in higher education.”
The University’s role in civic engagement would never be the same.
A RISING TIDE
Evins is a rising tide that lifts all boats. A trained historian and servant-leader, she has spent the last two decades sweeping students up in her current— not to redirect them, but to empower them to chart their courses.
She sees untapped potential in her students. And under her guidance, they have gone on to win prestigious fellowships, pursue graduate studies across the globe, and serve in government, in courtrooms, as CEOs, and in countless museums, research labs,
national parks, classrooms, and archives. They come from all walks of life, yet, under her leadership, they learned to build community, to question systems thoughtfully, and to act deliberately for the common good.
From organizing peaceful First Amendment demonstrations to petitioning local, state, and national leaders, her students practiced democracy—not as a distant concept, but as a lived responsibility. Many presented original civic engagement research at national conferences hosted by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators and AASCU, launching them into educational and career opportunities that were once beyond reach.
Her most enduring work lies in her unwavering commitment to voter engagement. Evins embraced the “ask every student” philosophy with unmatched zeal. It wasn’t unusual to find her sitting in the Quad with a student, phone in hand, calling election commissions nationwide to answer questions about registration, absentee ballots, or polling locations. No student graduated from her classroom without a renewed sense of civic duty—and a concrete plan to vote.
As she often said, “Voting is our nonnegotiable duty as American citizens.” Evins, the daughter of a former congressman from Tennessee, believes deeply in the power of early participation: “The sooner a human being engages in the physical act of voting, the sooner they become a participating citizen for a lifetime,” she said.
Due to her efforts, MTSU earned repeated national honors from the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, including “Highly Established” status and being the top public university in Tennessee for student voter registration three years in a row.
“It’s absolutely imperative that civic learning not be just episodic or saved for celebratory occasions, but that it be embedded in everything we do on a regular basis,” she said. “We want to help our students to be able to vote while they are under our care. . . .
“The practice of voting secures students’ commitment to active citizenship and voter participation for the rest of their lives. Eighteen-year-old Americans must be supported when they first engage as voters, not be confused, undervalued, and deterred.”
From its origins under Gebert and founding directors Byrnes and Williams, to the transformative leadership of Evins, and now into the capable hands of Amy Sayward, pictured left, the ADP at MTSU stands as a living testament to the power of education in sustaining democracy.
Taking the reins as MTSU’s fourth ADP director, Sayward is a professor of History and a campus leader with deep experience in both scholarship and service. Her background in U.S. and international history and her collaborative approach to leadership position her well to carry forward the ADP’s mission in a time of national change.
Sayward is also no stranger to civic learning. She has worked across departments and committees to promote inclusive education and community engagement. Under her direction, the ADP is expected to continue its expansion, bridging academic inquiry and real-world action, while equipping students with the tools to participate meaningfully in the democratic process.
“It is not a cliché. Students are the leaders of their generations,” said Sayward, who has often given extra credit for students who are or who become registered voters. “They will make a difference whether through their actions or their indifference.”
Thanks to her ADP predecessor, Sayward has a strong infrastructure to build upon. Evins, who retired in summer 2025, has not only served her classrooms— she has modeled what it means to be a citizen. She has shaped not just programs, but people. Her legacy is woven into the fabric of MTSU and the many communities now led by those who learned from her.
As the American Democracy Project turns the page to its next chapter, it is buoyed by her example—and forever grateful for the rising tide she became.
The American Democracy Project will continue serving as a campus civic cornerstone, hosting Constitution Day celebrations, expanding studentled voter engagement efforts, and encouraging open dialogue across ideological divides. More importantly, it will continue preparing students to not only understand democracy but also practice it.
LEARN MORE
Visit amerdem.mtsu.edu
