Career
Mullins worked at George Mason University for three years as a visiting professor prior to joining the faculty at IUPUI in 1999. [2] [4] [5] Soon after starting at IUPUI,Mullins won the John L. Cotter Award in Historical Archaeology in recognition of his monograph studying African American communities in Annapolis,Maryland,Race and Affluence:An Archaeology of African America and Consumer Culture. [4]
In addition to his role at IUPUI,Mullins served as the president of the Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) from 2012 to 2013. [2]
His research focused on historical archaeology as an approach to understanding culture,history,and place. In Indianapolis,his work helped to build public histories of Black neighborhoods in the city. [2] In 2008 he conducted an archaeological dig to better understand the Black neighborhood that had been displaced by the IUPUI campus. [6]
Mullins also studied elements of material culture in Finland and took research trips to the country. In 2012 he received a Fulbright Scholarship to conduct research in Oulu. Later the University of Oulu honored Mullins with the title of docent. [2]
In 2016 he received the Chancellor's Fellowship. The fellowship funded a research project entitled,"Invisible Indianapolis:Race,Heritage,and Community Memory in the Circle City". [2]
Mullins' academic writings were supplemented with two blogs that he maintained for a general readership,“Invisible Indianapolis”and “Archaeology and Material Culture”. [5] In these writings,Mullins drew attention to how IUPUI displaced the African American neighborhoods that once occupied the campus location. [7] These blogs also provided a public account for the neighborhoods where he conducted his community-engaged research. [2]
Mullins' work in Indianapolis contributed to the reclassification of the death of George Tompkins as a lynching. [8] [9]
In 2022,the Indianapolis City-County Council adopted a resolution recognizing Mullins for "advancing the public’s understanding of the role of the color line in shaping the history and contemporary landscape of Indianapolis.” [2]
Personal life
Mullins married Marlys Johanne Pearson with whom he raised a son,Aidan. [5] [3] He enjoyed cycling,popular culture,and sweets. His fondness for sweets and his interests in popular culture were combined to produce an academic book about doughnuts. [3] He also was an avid runner. Mullins ran his last half marathon two months before receiving a diagnosis of cancer. [2]
Mullins died at the age of 60 from glioblastoma on April 16,2023. [5]
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