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Sonoma State University​

Born in the small Central California town of Merced, Dr. Harriet Andréa Neves expanded her horizons with international study, an acclaimed university academic career and worldwide travel. Her interest in social justice and education has resulted in a generous philanthropy that has engaged students and enriched intellectual opportunities at Sonoma State University.

An Emeritus Professor of Literacy Studies and Elementary Education at Sonoma State University, Dr. Neves also taught at the Stanford University School of Education. She devoted her career to the field of global cultural anthropology, including speaking, writing and teaching of implications of culture on the education process. Her research has taken her to dozens of destinations throughout the world.

She and her late husband, Barton Evans, a successful Silicon Valley engineer and executive, have been active in philanthropy in support of education - both public and private - as well as the performing arts and social justice. They endowed the Barton Evans and H. Andréa Neves Professor of Literature at Claremont McKenna College; the Barton Evans and H. Andréa Neves Instructorship in Humanities at Phillips Exeter Academy; the H. Andréa Neves and Barton Evans Fellowship Fund for Graduate Students in Education at Stanford University; and the H. Andréa Neves and Barton Evans Endowment Fund for the Neves-Evans Social Justice Lecture Series at Sonoma State University, which brings world-class speakers annually to the campus. Dr. Neves has also supported the Holocaust Grove and the Green Music Center at Sonoma State University.

They have also supported the construction of classrooms and teacher residences and funded various secondary school and undergraduate scholarships in Tanzania. Dr. Neves has served on numerous boards, including the Scripps College Board of Trustees, the International Fulbright Association Board of Directors, the Stanford University School of Education Advisory Board, the Claremont McKenna College Berger Institute for Work, Family and Children, the Sonoma State University Green Music Center, the Sonoma State University Foundation, and the Opera San Jose Board of Trustees.

Dr. Neves earned a bachelor’s degree from Universidad de las Américas in Mexico City, a master’s degree from Sacramento State University and a Ph.D. in Education from Stanford University. In recognition of her many accomplishments and contributions to the community, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and Sonoma State University are proud to confer upon Dr. Harriet Andréa Neves the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.