San Marcos
Gregory Clark Evans, a nationally syndicated and award-winning cartoonist and creator of the strip, Luann, is a strong advocate of arts education and a loyal supporter of California State University San Marcos.
Growing up in Burbank, California, Evans dreamed of becoming an animator, but it was years before he reached his goal. A graduate of California State University Northridge, Evans taught high school art in El Centro, California. In 1972, he and his wife, Betty, moved to Australia, where they lived and taught for two years. After a year of traveling, they settled in Colorado, where Evans worked as a graphic artist and promotion manager for a television station. During that time, he freelanced as a magazine cartoonist while developing ideas for a comic strip. From these ideas, Luann emerged.
Since it began in 1985, Luann has earned a loyal following in more than 350 newspapers and has consistently ranked among the top five comic strips in reader surveys. In 2003, Evans received the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year, the highest award in cartooning.
Evan’s advocacy of and for adolescent girls and young women has been an ongoing theme of his work, and teenagers everywhere relate to his insightful humor and true-to-life characters. He has broached real issues that teens face from puberty, peer pressure, academic achievement, character building challenges, unrequited love, drugs and alcohol, all with kindness and a sense of humanity.
Today, Evans and his wife reside in San Marcos, California, where he is a long-time advisory board member of Center ARTES at Cal State San Marcos, a center that aims to advance arts education in K-12 schools. Through an on-going partnership with the CSUSM School of Arts, Evans has developed new work, including the musical “Luann: Scenes in a Teen’s Life,” which has been performed on numerous stages throughout the country.
In recognition of his outstanding professional and creative accomplishments, his influential role in advocating for adolescent girls and young women, and his advocacy of arts education along with his sustained service to CSUSM, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and California State University San Marcos are proud to confer upon Gregory Evans the honorary degree of Doctor of Fine Arts.