Wayne State University board unanimously elects first woman as 13th president
It was a thoroughly modern welcome for Wayne State University's newest president, who joined the board meeting announcing her selection by video camera.
Kimberly Andrews Espy was selected by a unanimous vote of the university's board of governors Friday afternoon at a packed law school auditorium, the first woman to hold the position.
Espy, 60, who has served as the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of Texas at San Antonio since June 2018, said in her public remarks at the meeting that she was "honored and humbled to serve" the urban public research university.
The posting was "the opportunity of a lifetime," she said, adding that she planned to uphold the university's mission to say to potential students: "You belong here and you will succeed."
'No. 1 Wayne woman Warrior'
Her ranking — the university's 13th president — could have been seen as an unfortunate number, but Espy said, instead, it was a good numeral, meaning a time marking "transformation and renewal."
She credited the university's nearly yearlong presidential search as a chance to get to know members of the search committee and board of governors, adding that "in some ways, I feel like I already belong."
After the vote, Board President Mark Gaffney held up a letterman jacket with a large W, saying it would be a gift for the new president. Espy, in her remarks, pledged to be the "No. 1 Wayne woman Warrior," in reference to the school's nickname for athletics and others on campus.
More: Wayne State University plans to name Kimberly Andrews Espy its next university president
Board members at the meeting lauded Espy for making a memorable and inspiring first impression with the search committee, as well as showing a commitment to serving schools with a diverse student body whose members were often the first in their families to attend college.
Before her time in Texas, Espy was senior vice president for research at the University of Arizona. Espy, a trained neuroscientist and licensed psychologist, has earned more than $22 million in funding to study how young children control their attention to promote learning, academic and health outcomes, and how these skills get off track related to medical, environmental or social factors, according to her university website biography.
Similarities between Wayne State and UT San Antonio
Her current university in San Antonio serves a large Hispanic population, which could serve as a parallel to address the needs of Wayne State's diverse student body, according to people familiar with the search process. They also cited her lifelong commitment to an academic career, her success in attracting and retaining students from disadvantaged backgrounds and her prior experience working with a large university and its medical school.
Current Wayne State president M. Roy Wilson, who has served the public research university in Detroit for 10 years, announced his departure plans last year.
More: Wayne State University president M. Roy Wilson to step down on July 31, 2023
During his tenure at Wayne State, Wilson increased the graduation rate and reduced the gap between graduation rates for students of color and white students. He also expanded the campus itself; during his tenure, the university built the WSU Fieldhouse in partnership with the Detroit Pistons, the STEM Innovation and Learning Center and the Mike Ilitch School of Business. There were also major renovations of the Student Center Building, campus housing added and renovations to State Hall.
In a telephone interview after the meeting, Espy said that she was impressed by the recent success of Wayne State to boost its graduation rates, "but that doesn't mean that we will be satisfied."
She said she was also eager to continue a strong relationship between the university in the city's Midtown neighborhood and Detroit itself. Among the strengths of the university, she said, is its ability to conduct breakthrough research on issues important to the Motor City, including work to discover the next-generation energy source and fuel cells.
As for attending her selection meeting virtually, Espy explained that a busy travel schedule prevented her from being on the Detroit campus in person.
"Summer is always a challenging time," she said. Epsy officially takes office Aug. 1
Contact Matthew Dolan: 313-223-4743 or msdolan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @matthewsdolan
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit's largest university welcomes first female president
