TUSKEGEE, Ala. - (June 13, 2007) - University President Benjamin F. Payton has appointed Dr. Richard K. Dozier as the new head of the Department of  Architecture and Construction Science and associate dean of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Physical Sciences, effective August 1.

The new department head, who will also hold the title of The Robert R. Taylor Professor of Architecture at Tuskegee University, will be working with the University on a consultant basis prior to his August appointment.

"Dr. Dozier brings impressive credentials, and we are very excited about his appointment," says Dr. Payton.

The new appointee received both his Bachelor of Architecture and the Master of Architecture degrees from Yale University. He earned the Doctor of Architecture degree (Arch.D.) at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Additionally, he received the Certificate of Architectural Conservation from Rome, and he worked as a resident fellow at the W.E.B. DuBois Institute at Harvard University from 1999 to 2000 and served as visiting fellow at Harvard from 2000 to 2001.  He also received a Fulbright Award to Brazil in 2002 to study urban preservation in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador Bahia. 

As a licensed, registered architect, Dr. Dozier holds membership in the National Organization of Minority Architects, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Association of African American Museums, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, and he is a past member of the American Institute of Architects.  He is also a life member of the NAACP.

Dr. Dozier's academic appointments include serving as associate professor and chair of the Department of Architecture at Tuskegee from 1976 to 1979. He currently serves on the faculty at Florida A&M University as professor of architecture. He was associate dean of the School of Architecture at Florida A&M from 1991 to 1996.  Other academic appointments include associate professor at Morgan State University and assistant professor in the School of Architecture at Yale University. He has done extensive research in historic preservations, African-Americans and architecture and has worked with the National Park Service and the Department of Interior as a historic architect consultant. 

As head of the Department of Architecture and Construction Science and associate dean of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Physical Sciences, at Tuskegee University, Dr. Dozier will be responsible to the president through the provost and the dean of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Physical Sciences in carrying out his work. He will also have a direct line to the provost on matters of faculty appointments, budget and curriculum, and he will have a direct line to the Office of University Advancement on matters of fund raising.

"With the extraordinary educational and professional experiences he brings, we expect Dr. Dozier to lead the University's architecture program to unparalleled heights of outstanding achievement and quality in the region and in the nation," Dr. Payton says.