New London — The Mitchell College board of trustees has named Tracy Espy, provost and vice president of academic affairs at Pfeiffer University in North Carolina, as its next president.

Espy is the college's eighth president, and her appointment is effective July 1. The announcement came just over a year after former President Janet Steinmayer said she was leaving to become president of Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass.

"An expert in human development and family therapy, Dr. Espy possesses the leadership skills and experience to work with all constituencies to move Mitchell College forward," Kevin Hennessy, chairman of the board of trustees, said in a news release. "On a personal level, she is grounded in a desire to serve and connect with others and will be a wonderful model for our community, both on and off campus."

Speaking to The Day by phone from North Carolina on Tuesday, Espy said what appealed to her about Mitchell was its mission of "educating learners of all kinds." She loves the Mitchell Ability Model, which focuses on teaching students adaptability through "7 essential abilities," such as critical and creative thinking, diversity and global perspectives, and social interaction.

What also appealed to Espy, she said, was the Thames Program, being in New England, and the words the search committee used to describe Mitchell — "kind, compassionate, family, supportive, caring."

Espy indicated her priorities include building on the Mitchell Ability Model and introducing it to people across the country, helping Mitchell be "an educational partner for life" to its graduates, and partnering with the local and regional community. She said she looks forward to sitting down with local officials and people in the business community.

She will move to New London with her husband, artist Marvin Espy, though she's not sure when.

"New London is happening, so I feel completely excited about it," she said, noting that she popped into Muddy Waters Café when she visited earlier this year — before the pandemic — and is looking forward to hanging out on the pier.

Espy said that while Pfeiffer has been doing online learning since 2001, it's new for Mitchell, and the question is, "How do you create a remote environment that is supportive, attentive, [and] considerate of the diverse style of learners, and do that successfully?"

She can't predict what the fall semester holds for Mitchell but said she takes her cues from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the government, and will communicate as much as possible with the team at Mitchell to consider all possibilities.

New academic programs, improved salaries and diversity, and servant leadership

Espy grew up in Alabama, and went on to get her bachelor's degree from Berea College in Kentucky, master's in family studies from Miami University in Ohio, and Ph.D. in child/family-marriage and family therapy from Syracuse University in New York.

She landed at Pfeiffer right out of grad school and has been there for 20 years. Pfeiffer operates three campuses, in Charlotte, Raleigh and Misenheimer, and Espy lives in Charlotte.

In partnership with faculty and staff, Espy earned six university accreditations and helped implement 10 new academic programs, the press release from Mitchell said.

Espy, who will be the first African American woman to lead Mitchell, received the national Zenobia L. Hikes Faculty Women of Color Award for her work improving faculty salaries and institutional diversity at Pfeiffer.

Another thing Espy said she was proud to work on at Pfeiffer was adding two health science programs that support rural health initiatives.

Prior to her current position, Espy oversaw the Francis Center for Servant Leadership, which coordinated opportunities in service learning, civic engagement and community-based research.

Espy said it was not just about creating opportunities for students but about meeting the needs of the community and asking, "Do we have students with the expertise that we can have volunteer there?"

As president, Espy will replace Catherine Wright and Mary-Jane McLaughlin, who have been serving as interim co-presidents since July 1. Hennessy said that Wright is returning to her position as vice president of academic affairs while McLaughlin, who was chief of staff under Steinmayer, has accepted a new position at Lesley University.

e.moser@theday.com