Dr. Charlyn Hilliman

Dr. Charlyn Hilliman is Capella University’s Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President of Academic Enrichment and Learner Support. Her pronouns are she/her/hers. She resides on lands once owned and occupied by the Seminole and Timucua tribes in Florida.

She also co-chairs of the President’s Commission on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at Capella University. Before that, she served as the Dean of Public Service Leadership at Capella University. Dr. Hilliman has worked for the university since 2006 in a variety of positions, including the chair for Public Administration and research faculty. As part of her service to the university, she served on the Institutional Review Board (IRB), as a Scientific Merit Reviewer, a Residency Instructor, a Subject Matter Expert in Research, Criminal Justice, and Public Administration, the Comprehensive Examination Lead.

Before joining Capella University faculty, Dr. Hilliman spent her career in healthcare information technology leadership at Columbia University’s Department of Biomedical Informatics (DBMI) and Florida International University and has worked as a Director of Healthcare Policy Development for the New York-Presbyterian Hospital. She also served active duty in the United States Air Force. Dr. Hilliman holds a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice, Master of Philosophy in Criminal Justice, both from the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), and a Master in Public Administration from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY. Dr. Hilliman served on several community boards, including Alliance of Youth Development, the Destiny Baptist Church Board of Trustees Community Liaison, and STABLE Community Services, a social services agency. She also served on the Central High School’s (CHS) School Advisory Council and the CHS Roar Cadet Parent Booster Club. She is dedicated to helping her community.