Tips from the Top: Dr. Tracy Espy

Tips from the Top offers a unique, casual atmosphere for discussion and insights from regional C-suite professionals. While generally geared toward young professionals, all are welcome to attend this valuable conversation. Speakers share their path to leadership, overcoming obstacles, and tips for success, as well as answer questions from the group.

Guest Speaker: Dr Tracy Espy, President of Mitchell College.

Dr. Tracy Y. Espy became the eighth president and first African-American woman to lead Mitchell College in New London, Connecticut, on July 1, 2020.  She is currently engaged with the Governor’s Workforce Council, the FEMA Region 1 Covid-19 Long-Term Recovery Task Force, and the CT Higher Education Resilience Working Group on Workforce Development.  She was also recently appointed to serve on the Council of Independent Colleges and Universities administered Network for Vocation in Undergraduate Education (NetVUE), a nationwide network of colleges and universities formed to enrich intellectual and theological exploration of vocation among undergraduate students.

Before coming to Mitchell, Dr. Espy served as provost and vice president of academic affairs at Pfeiffer University in North Carolina from 2008, overseeing all academic programs and divisions and working in various aspects of university administration such as enrollment management, strategic planning and fundraising. Prior to this role, she was vice president for servant leadership and oversaw the Francis Center for Servant Leadership, establishing more than 100 community partnerships, along with university-wide servant-leadership initiatives, earning the university a Community Engagement Classification from the Carnegie Foundation, as well as the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll.

In April 2019, Espy received the national Zenobia L. Hikes Faculty Women of Color Award at Virginia Tech University. The award honored her accomplishment in improving faculty salaries and institutional diversity at Pfeiffer University.

Dr. Espy received a Ph.D. in Child/Family-Marriage and Family Therapy from Syracuse University, a M.S. in Family Studies from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, and a B.A. from Berea College, Berea, Kentucky. Her teaching and research expertise include systemic theory, ethnic identity and self-esteem, servant leadership, service-learning, and student engagement.