Turner named TRIO project director
Dec. 11, 2020
Dr. Sylvia Turner has been named Maryville College’s new TRIO Student Support Services project director.
Turner, former associate director of first-year programs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, began her new role at Maryville College on Nov. 18.
As TRIO project director, Turner provides leadership and oversight for MC’s TRIO Student Support Services program, a grant-funded program that is designed to help students succeed and graduate from Maryville College.
In August, Maryville College announced that it had received a $1,309,440 Student Support Services (SSS) grant from the U.S. Department of Education to provide academic and other support services to first-generation college students, students with high financial need and students with documented disabilities. The five-year grant allows for the creation of a TRIO SSS program that includes advising; academic coaching; supplemental instruction and group study sessions; career-readiness workshops and coaching; financial and economic literacy workshops and coaching that includes FAFSA support and scholarship assistance; and cultural enrichment activities. The program annually will support 140 students meeting SSS eligibility requirements.
Turner holds a bachelor’s degree in social policy from Agnes Scott College, a master’s degree in sociology from Emory University, and a Ph.D. in sociology from Emory University. While at Emory University, she served as interim assistant director of the Emory Scholars Program, assistant director of academic services, and program assistant for the university’s Center for Science Education. As a fellow in the Office of University-Community Partnerships, she coordinated and managed grant-funded programs. She also served as an instructor and visiting assistant professor in the university’s Department of Sociology, teaching courses on inequality, race and ethnic relations in the U.S.
At the University of Tennessee, Turner served as assistant director of the Chancellor’s Honors and Haslam Scholars Programs before becoming associate director of the Haslam Scholars Program. In that role, she developed and implemented the program’s strategic plan, coordinated the Haslam Scholars selection process, provided program and academic advising for scholars, taught one of three foundational courses for first-year scholars, designed and led a study abroad course to Scotland, recruited faculty to teach program courses, and collaborated with campus and community partners. As associate director of first-year programs, Turner managed first-year seminars, including faculty recruitment; developed and oversaw a new faculty-in-residence program; and collaborated with university partners to implement program initiatives. She also has served as guest lecturer for a variety of programs at UT.
In addition to serving on several academic and scholarship committees at UT, Turner has served on the board of Men Stopping Violence in Atlanta, Ga.; as resident manager of Atlanta Friends Meeting in Decatur, Ga.; and as co-chair of the United Campus Workers’ Civil Rights and Equity Committee. She is a member of the 2020 cohort of Leadership Knoxville.
“We are pleased to have Dr. Turner leading our new team,” said Jan Taylor, assistant academic dean at Maryville College. “In developing meaningful and effective support services, her administrative experience in higher education and with grant-funded programming will expedite our launch. More importantly, Dr. Turner’s sociological perspective and commitment to the mission of TRIO will strengthen the College’s efforts to prepare students for lives of citizenship, leadership and service.”