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Dr. Colette Pierce Burnette HT’s Sixth President – Part II

As the new president of Huston-Tillotson University, Dr. Colette Pierce Burnette realizes she has an important seat at the table.

On this edition of In Black America, producer/host John L. Hanson Jr. concludes his conversation with Dr. Colette Pierce Burnette, President and CEO of Huston Tillotson University.

As the first female president and chief executive officer of the merged Huston-Tillotson University and the second female president in the college’s 140-year history, Burnette began her new role on July 1, 2015.

Burnette was one of 70 applicants vying for the president/CEO position. The 18-member Search Committee, comprised of representatives from the HT board of trustees, faculty, staff, students, alumni and community and business leaders, narrowed the field to a list of nine semi-finalists who were engaged in two days of interviews before the finalists were selected and approved by the board of trustees at its March 2015 meeting.

Burnete comes to HT; Austin, TX oldest institution of higher education, with executive leadership experience.

In 2012, she served as interim President at Pierce College, leading the college within a district environment and working with executive leadership to serve more than 30,000 students each year. She had an extensive career at Central State University from 1999 to 2012 that scaled to vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer. In addition, at Central State University Burnette served as Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer…

Burnette earned a B.S. in engineering from The Ohio State University and an M.S. in administration from Georgia College. She is a graduate of the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Management Development Program and earned her Ed.D. in higher education administration from University of Pennsylvania.

John L. Hanson is the producer and host of the nationally syndicated radio series In Black America. It’s heard on home station KUT Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m., as well as weekly on close to 20 stations across the country. The weekly podcast of IBA, the only nationally broadcast black-oriented public affairs radio program, is one of KUT’s most popular podcasts.