Jesse DuBois Fant Evans was the first woman to serve on George Washington University's Board of Trustees (1924-66). Evans received her A.B. in 1913 (with distinction) and an honorary Doctor of Education in 1932, both from GW. In 1971 Joshua Evans Jr., recognizing his wife's distinguished record and service to the University, established the Jesse Fant Evans Prize. The prize is awarded annually to an outstanding senior student in a contemporary history course.

Ms. Evans was also noted for her columns in the Washington Star on the history of Washington, especially the Foggy Bottom area. In 1935 the GW alumni association republished some of those articles for the university. They included "Hamburg: The Colonial Town that Became the Seat of The George Washington University." She received an Alumni Achievement Award in 1938 and a citation from the General Alumni Association in 1954 for "outstanding contributions as an aluma to the development of The George Washington University, the furtherance of its interests and the support of its faculty, students and graduates."