H. Dean Evans, who served as Indiana’s superintendent of public instruction from 1985 to 1992, died on Oct. 2. He was 75 and was diagnosed with brain cancer in June.
Mr. Evans, a Republican, was appointed to the position by then-Gov. Robert Orr. He helped the governor develop and win passage of the “A-Plus” school reform initiative in 1987, which required a new set of achievement examinations for students and set up a school accreditation system based on performance, with rewards for schools that improved.
Mr. Evans was elected to the post in 1988. He frequently clashed with Evan Bayh, the Democrat who was elected governor that year. In 1992, Mr. Evans sought the Republican nomination for governor, but lost in a three-way primary.
Before becoming state schools chief, Mr. Evans was the director of elementary and secondary education at the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment.
