Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Kimberly Andrews Espy
American academic administrator and neuropsychologist From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Kimberly Andrews Espy is an American neuropsychologist. In August 2023, she became the first woman to serve as president of Wayne State University.[1]
Remove ads
Early life and education
Espy was born and raised in Cincinnati.[2] She graduated from Cincinnati Country Day School in 1981 and was a National Merit Scholar.[3] Espy completed a Bachelor of Arts in psychology at Rice University in 1985. Following this, she received a Master of Arts in 1988 and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1994, both in clinical neuropsychology and from the University of Houston. She then became a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Arizona College of Medicine from 1994 to 1996.[4] During her studies, Espy's research focused on the impact of cocaine and pregnancy.[5]
Remove ads
Career
Summarize
Perspective
Upon completing her postdoctoral studies, Espy accepted a professorship at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.[4] Upon joining the faculty in 1996 as an associate professor, Espy began to study the impact of smoking and pregnancy instead of cocaine.[5] She also led a five-year research project investigating how preschoolers developed self-control.[6] In 2005, Espy left Southern Illinois University to become the associate vice chancellor for research at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL).[7] She also served as acting dean of UNL's Graduate Studies and directed the school's Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience Lab.[8] In 2008, Espy helped UNL secure a National Science Foundation's ADVANCE program grant to recruit, promote and retain female faculty in the STEM fields.[7] After six years at UNL, Espy became the vice president for research and innovation at the University of Oregon.[9]
Espy worked at the University of Oregon from 2011 until 2014.[10] While at Oregon, she led a partnership to establish the South Willamette Valley Regional Accelerator and Innovation Network and secured its initial state funding.[11] In 2014, Espy returned to her alma mater, the University of Arizona, as their senior vice president for research.[10] During her tenure at the institution, she helped establish new interdisciplinary institutes and helped the school gain the designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution from the Department of Education.[12]
Espy left Arizona in 2018 to become the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).[12] As UTSA, Espy oversaw the establishment of the Najim Center for Innovation and Career Advancement[13] and the opening of the San Pedro 1 Building, housing UTSA's School for Data Science.[14] In 2022, she received a Women's Leadership Award from the San Antonio Business Journal for her community contributions.[15]
On August 1, 2023, Espy became the first woman to serve as president of Wayne State University.[1]
Social engagement
Espy has served as an Executive Committee Member on the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities councils. She was twice elected as member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy and has served on the Board of Directors of the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protections Programs, the Institute for Research on Innovation and Science, and the Arizona Alzheimer's Consortium, reflecting her commitment to impactful research. Additionally, she has had roles in the San Antonio Medical Foundation, Campus Research Corporation, and the Arizona Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee.[4]
Remove ads
Personal life
Espy and her husband Paul Kaufmann have seven children together.[2]
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads