A leader with more than 25 years of experience in higher education, Dr. Kimberly Andrews Espy serves as Wayne State University’s 13th President. During her first year, President Espy launched the WSU Prosperity Agenda, a framework supports progress towards the university's strategic plan goals. The Agenda includes three pillars: Accelerate Mobility for Our Students; Empower Health for Our Urban Neighborhoods; and Fuel Innovation for Our Competitiveness, which together are intended to drive prosperity for our community. WSU’s College to Career Initiative, launched in November, enhances and expands university-wide efforts to ensure that Wayne State’s talented graduates are career ready, aligned with Michigan’s workforce needs.
President Espy previously served as provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of Texas at San Antonio where she championed social and economic opportunity by promoting affordable access to a top-quality research university education. Under her tenure, UTSA strengthened its commitment to preparing students for success beyond graduation in collaboration with the city’s business and community leaders, and also expanded its contributions to San Antonio’s economic development. For her commitment to the community and her work as an agent of change, she was recognized with a Women’s Leadership Award from the San Antonio Business Journal.
President Espy, a translational clinical neuroscientist, is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. President Espy’s federally-funded research addresses how executive control develops in childhood and is affected by different medical conditions and social influences. She serves on national and local boards, has chaired NIH study sections, and actively contributes scientifically. Prior to serving at UTSA, President Espy was senior vice president for research at the University of Arizona and held university leadership roles at the University of Oregon, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. She is the first woman president at Wayne State University.
