Kimberly Andrews Espy is the 13th President of Wayne State University (WSU), the first woman to serve in this role in the institution’s history. During her first year, she launched the WSU Prosperity Agenda, a framework supports progress towards the university’s strategic plan goals. 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.
A leader with more than 25 years of experience in higher education, Espy previously served as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Formerly, Espy was Senior Vice President for Research at the University of Arizona. She also served as Vice President for Research and Innovation and Dean of the graduate school at the University of Oregon and then at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She started her academic career at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.
Espy is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She was recognized with a Women’s Leadership Award from the San Antonio Business Journal for her commitment to the community and her work as an agent of change.
As both an American Psychological Association Division 40 Early Career Award winner and Elected Fellow, Espy has chaired NIH study sections, served other review panels and actively contributes to the scientific literature in her field.