Dozier was raised in
North Fork, California, where he befriended the serial killer
Edmund Kemper. His childhood friendship with Kemper later led him to author a novel, The California Killing Field, about a fictional murderer. Dozier received a
Ph.D. in communication research from
Stanford University and went on to teach
public relations at SDSU. Dozier is a past recipient of the Outstanding Educator Award and the Lloyd B. Dennis Award, both from the
Public Relations Society of America, and the Norma B. Connelly Public Affairs Service Award from the United States Navy Public Affairs Association. Dozier is a
death penalty abolitionist. ==References==