Mary McLean Evans ’82

2026 Bell Ringer Award
Citation for Mary McLean Evans ’82

Twenty-five years ago, in this very Chapel, Mary McLean Evans and trustees Amy Owens Goodfriend and Linda Johnson watched as Mary’s treasured mentor and friend, Ellie Wertimer, received the 2001 Bell Ringer Award. Linda recalls thinking at the time that someday Mary would receive the same award. Today is that day.

What was obvious to Linda then only became more evident to the rest of us over the past quarter century as Mary enthusiastically and relentlessly demonstrated her love, service, and devotion to her alma mater.

Mary came to Hamilton from Minnesota in 1978 as a member of Hamilton’s first coed class, following her father, Charles Russell McLean Jr., a distinguished member of the Class of 1943. Mary embraced college life, majored in biology, and made friends easily. Contemporaries recall her big smile, her energy, and her can-do, fun personality. Few were surprised when she received the James Soper Merrill Prize as the member of the 1982 graduating class who in character and influence typified the highest ideals of the College.

Three weeks after graduating, she began her career in the Office of Communications and Development, serving for the next quarter century in various roles. After a sabbatical to work for the Committee of 200 and the American University of Paris, she returned to Hamilton in 2022 to help bring the record-breaking Because Hamilton capital campaign to a successful close. 

She was, above all, a connector, through whom Hamilton friends would intersect. Said one former longtime colleague, “Mary wanted nothing more than to help Hamiltonians network, build careers, raise money, strengthen relationships and, above all, do good.” By one estimate, she helped 500 alumni engage with Hamilton and achieve their philanthropic aspirations.

Linda Johnson called Mary “the consummate connector and advisor,” whose “dedication and commitment are not loud or in pursuit of accolades; they [were] as genuine as I have witnessed in any context.” Former Board Chair Kevin Kennedy said, “No one in my experience [had] a better understanding of the Hamilton community and how to inspire its affection and loyalty than Mary. On any list of great contributors to our College, Mary is one of those at the top.” And Joan Hinde Stewart, Hamilton’s 19th president, remembers Mary’s “phenomenal ability to understand and connect with people and to connect people with each other.”

Mary served Hamilton with love, joy, enthusiasm, and a genuine desire to bring people together with the College that gave her so much. Tragically, she died last month following a long and determined battle with cancer. Today, she becomes just the second person, and the first woman, to receive both the James Soper Merrill Prize and the Bell Ringer Award, Hamilton’s two most prestigious honors. She is richly deserving of both. 

Presented by Laura Engelhardt ’95
President, Alumni Association
Presented June 13, 2026

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