On Mar. 21, Charles Royal, Chair of the Meredith College Board of Trustees, sent an email via Campus Updates with an invitation to Jones Auditorium where the ninth president of Meredith College would be announced. As of the event hosted on Mar. 27, Dr. Aimee Sapp was announced as the President-elect, set to start on Jul. 1, 2024.
Following the event, a news release and bio were shared with The Herald by Melyssa Allen, Director of Public Relations, along with an invitation to interview President-elect Sapp. The news release and bio noted that “President-elect Sapp looks forward to leading the next chapter of Meredith College’s history.” President-elect Sapp brings “more than 25 years of higher education experience” at William Woods University where she was a tenured faculty member in communication with professor rank and doctoral status. She also held the academic dean position. The news release added that President-elect Sapp holds a Ph.D. in communication, a Masters degree in speech communication and a Bachelor of Science in sociology from the University of Missouri-Columbia, the University of Northern Colorado and William Woods College, respectively. President-elect Sapp will fill the position of college President following the departure of President Allen, ‘80, who held the position for 13 years. In a separate email, President Allen shared a message of thanks to anyone who participated in the search for the new Meredith president. President Allen shared that she believes that Meredith has found an “excellent new leader in Dr. Aimee Sapp,” and noted that the college has shown the President-elect what an “outstanding community of leaders, learners, and human beings [Meredith members] are!”
The Herald was able to interview the President-elect following the official announcement of the ninth president. During her speech, Dr. Sapp mentioned that she researched the student voices at Meredith, which included reading articles published by The Herald. Sapp said she believes “student journalists care alot about Meredith and it shows in the content quality.” Dr. Sapp is an alumna of a historically women’s college, and “felt prepared” to step into this role at Meredith College. Sapp said “Ironically, [she] was more prepared to work and be at a [higher level] than men in the workforce.” The President-elect says she is dedicated to improving enrollment long term and growing the university as a whole.
In the interview conducted by staff writer Kat Whetstone, there were many questions regarding the future of Meredith. When asked about supporting Meredith’s nursing program, President-elect Sapp noted the need for more nurses and held the sentiment of it being a good fit for the college. In terms of overall contribution to Meredith under new leadership, President-elect noted addressing enrollment in the long-term sense as well as growing the college as a whole.
When asked about what Dr. sapp wanted students to know of her presidency, she shared that she is here to listen and wanting to know more about the members of the Meredith community.
By Shae-Lynn Henderson, Editor in Chief, and Haileigh West, Associate Editor in Chief
Photo provided by Melyssa Allen