Claeton Giordano '85
Student and friend
Professor Evans taught his students to think independently, to follow the data, and to understand what it was telling them, regardless of whether it supported the consensus. That ethic created the occasional controversy and enriched the HMC community. His was engaging and supportive, prodding his students to explore further, and, even when he was startlingly challenging, we loved him for it. Dropping by his office to better understand something, I often came away with more mysteries about money and banking to unravel. A couple years ago, I dropped by his office, and an hour later found myself sitting on a panel judging a business plan contest dry run! His fortunate students entered academic and professional institutions well-prepared to understand the economic forces that actually shaped their work. Professor Evans was a bit of an academic maverick, but he was vital to HMC’s fulfillment of it’s mission to endow students with a “clear understanding of the impact of their work on society.” As a young institution, HMC is fortunate to have his legacy to build on.
Mark Minto '90
Student
Professor Evans was an extraordinary character with a very engaging style of classroom lecture. He really provided a vision of economics that included tremendous optimism with many funny and interesting personal stories. He never, never gave a dull lecture, and that is hard to do in economics! He will definitely be missed!
Daniel Goodwin '09
Student
Man, I could really go for a cigarette at the Buf with this guy right now. Those were golden times.
This breaks my heart, I wish I’d told him what a huge influence he had on me. He’s one of the catalysts who got me into entrepreneurship, now I’ve started two companies.
I loved his salty, zero BS approach to life. Prof Evans CARED and put so much into what he did. He embodied the idea of “take your work extremely seriously, but yourself not too seriously at all.” I carry a lot of his style with me today.
I remember in his class in 2006, he said that it was common for people to fall into a depression after the stress of completing your PhD subsides. Well, when I finished my PhD in 2021, I had his voice ringing in my head. He was right.
Gary, you rock. And you were a rock of Mudd Entrepreneurship.
David Vick '94
Student and friend
Prof. Evans was hands down my favorite professor on campus. I took as many of his classes as I could, and those experiences set me on the path to a lengthy and fulfilling career in finance. I will be forever grateful for his coaching as I prepared for an interview with my first employer. He made a real difference for me and helped me land that all important first job. And, with all that said, the most memorable thing about him were his out of this world demon lectures. If you ever heard one, you know.
Jon Miller Schwartz '13
Student/pupil/friend
Beyond the relationship I built with Prof Evans through taking his econ classes, he played a massive role in encouraging me and helping me begin my entrepreneurial career. At a time when Harvey Mudd was not particularly suited for students who wanted to start companies, Gary Evans was a sole champion and took me under his wing. He was always positive while being critically helpful – I remember after we put together our first draft of a business plan, he tore it apart, and we were all the better for it. He treated us like adults (when in reality we weren’t quite), and always gave us the time of day. I wouldn’t be where I am without Gary Evans.