OHS Board of Directors
Cheryl Evans
Appointed
District 6, Burlington
Term expiring 2026
Dr. Cheryl Evans is president emeritus of Northern Oklahoma College (NOC) located in Tonkawa, Enid, and Stillwater having served from 2011 to 2021 as the institution’s first female president. Prior to her position at NOC, Evans served 17 years at Northwestern Oklahoma State University (NWOSU) in Alva and as leader of the university’s Enid campus.
She was raised in Cherokee, Oklahoma, and completed her B.A. in Mass Communications at NWOSU. She finished her M.A. in Communication at Wichita State University, and her doctorate at Oklahoma State University. She completed Harvard University’s Middle Management Program and Oklahoma’s Educators’ Leadership Academy.
Evans has served as chair of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (OSRHE) Council of Presidents, chair of the Oklahoma Community College Presidents, vice-chair OSRHE Legislative Affairs, chair of the Enid Chamber of Commerce, chair of the Enid Community Development Support Agency, chair of the NW Oklahoma United Way Campaign, Youth Leadership Oklahoma chair, and served on the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, INTEGRIS Bass Hospital, Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid Higher Education Council, Enid Regional Development Alliance, and OETA boards.
She currently is a member of the Oklahoma Historical Society board. She is a member of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame board, Leadership Oklahoma Executive Committee, NOC Foundation, the Standing Bear Museum, and a member of the Oklahoma Academy.
Her honors include graduating from Leadership Oklahoma Class XXI, Leadership Enid, Leadership Ponca City, Leadership Tonkawa, and being named a Journal Record’s Woman of the Year “50 Making a Difference” honorees, and was inducted into the 2014 “Circle of Excellence.” She was named the 2015 Enid Pillar of the Plains, 2021 Enid YWCA Woman of the Year, and 2023 Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame Inductee. While in the college classroom, she was awarded the NWOSU John Sheffield Teacher of the Year in 2000 and the NWOSU John Barton Distinguished Teaching and Service Award 2004.
She was elected as a director for Hiland Partners LP, a midstream energy public company, in 2006 and served the board until 2009 when Hamm took the company private. She is currently an advisor to Encompass Financial Services, Inc. and a board member of Security National Bank in Enid.
Evans and her husband of more than 40 years, Tom, enjoy traveling, serving their local church, spending time with family, photographing wildlife on their rural land in Alfalfa County, and enjoying their two grandchildren in Tulsa. Evans has two daughters, Cara Evans, MBA, who works in economic development with career tech, and Christa Rogers who is an attorney and officer with Waters Edge.
