After working for two years as an assistant professor in the Department of African and African American Studies at the State University of New York at Albany, in 1977 Karla Spurlock-Evans left research and teaching to become a student affairs administrator and diversity officer, focusing in particular on supporting the academic and social aspirations of black and other underrepresented students and helping institutions attract and retain a racially diverse faculty and staff.
Before retiring in 2018, she served as a student affairs dean and/or diversity officer at Haverford College (PA), Lake Forest College (IL), Northwestern University, (IL) and Trinity College (CT). Karla earned an A.B. from Barnard College in 1971, graduating magna cum laude with honors in Political Science. A Danforth Fellow, from 1971-75 she attended graduate school in American Studies at the Institute of the Liberal Arts, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.