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Maryville University has announced two new leadership positions which support the University’s strategic plan to build a more diverse and inclusive campus. Karlla Dozier, JD, will serve as assistant dean of compliance & recruitment, and Turan Mullins has been named assistant dean of students/diversity & inclusion. Both positions are effective June 1, 2016.

“The leadership of Turan and Karlla will underscore our continued and long term commitment to diversity and inclusion among our student body, faculty, and staff,” said President Mark Lombardi, PhD. “The programs and initiatives we have in place, along with those we plan to implement, will help us live fully one of our core values and a central theme of our strategic plan.”

Karlla Dozier, Assistant Dean of Compliance & Recruitment

Dozier, who currently serves as assistant director of career success & life coaching, is a legal and professional development specialist with more than 11 years of combined experience in law and higher education. In her new capacity, Dozier will direct and manage the Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action, and Title IX programs. She will also manage campus-wide initiatives designed to increase diversity in Maryville’s hiring practices.

Before joining Maryville, Dozier worked as a career advisor at Washington University School of Law, and as assistant director and senior attorney for a local nonprofit focused on civil rights litigation.

Previously, Dozier, who earned her law degree at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law, spent six years as a trial attorney in the private sector, most recently at a mid-size civil ligation defense firm. Her practice focused primarily on product and premise liability matters for national retail clients and transportation litigation for the region’s mass transit authority. As a senior attorney, she worked closely with law firm leadership to develop strategic recruitment initiatives focused on increasing firm diversity.

Turan Mullins, Assistant Dean of Students / Diversity & Inclusion

Turan Mullins currently serves as director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Maryville University. Mullins previously served as assistant director of the Office of Multicultural Programs, as well as an assistant director for enrollment at Maryville.

Mullins is co-founder of The Consortium of Higher Education Professionals for Inclusion and Equity, and is a member of the Editorial Board of Insight Into Diversity magazine. He is a Fellow in the St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative leadership program, and was recently named a 2016 Focus St. Louis Impact Fellow. He has also served as a Leadership Fellow with the National Association for Campus Activities.

As part of his service as a Give Respect Get Respect facilitator, Mullins works with high school students and staff from the Missouri Botanical Gardens and the Saint Louis Zoo to explore topics and issues related to diversity. Mullins is also on the executive committee of the Friends of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater St. Louis, and was recently honored with the 2016 Outstanding Alumni Award from Mathews Dickey Boys and Girls Club.

Mullins earned his BA in corporate communications from Southeast Missouri State University, and will receive his master’s degree in strategic communication from Maryville University in 2016.