Dr. Lawanda Dockins-Mills Named Town-Gown Council Vice Chair

SALISBURY, MD---Dr. Lawanda Dockins-Mills, Salisbury University associate dean of students, has been named vice-chair of SU's Town-Gown Council.

Dockins-Mills also serves as co-chair of SU's Neighborhood Relations Committee and chair of the Neighborhood Compact Committee (subcommittees of the Town-Gown Council). With more than 30 years of unwavering devotion to the profession, she serves to enrich the intellectual growth and experiences of students, universities and communities.

Dockins-Mills is a visionary and has been sought after for her out-of-the-box thinking in creating programs designed for first-year college students, second-year college students, orientation programs, neighborhood community relations, keynote addresses and more. She has conducted various workshops on leadership, mentoring, town-gown relationships and diversity both regionally and nationally. She also has written off-campus housing guides, brochures and pamphlets that are distributed widely, both on and off campus, to educate students to uphold the SU Promise. Among other things, Dockins-Mills provides leadership in hosting an annual “door-knocking” campaign, "Building Common Ground: Students and Communities Living and Working Together," which connects with thousands of students and neighbors living in the communities that are pivotal to student, institutional and community success.

Among her numerous awards, statewide she earned one of the University System of Maryland's highest honors, the Board of Regents’ Staff Award for Outstanding Services to Students in an Academic or Residential Environment; the SU Presidential Award in recognition and appreciation for outstanding work supporting students by overseeing the neighborhood relations programs, chairing the Neighborhood Compact and creating an educational online community transition program; the Town-Gown Distinguished Service Award for her service, dedication and commitment to positive town-gown and community relations; and the SU President’s Diversity Award. She also has been nominated as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women of 2020, a distinction bestowed by the Baltimore-based Daily Record.

Dockins-Mills serves on numerous boards, committees and professional organizations.