Since 2015, Dr. Colette Pierce Burnette has served as the sixth president and chief executive officer of Huston-Tillotson University, one of seven historically Black colleges and universities located in the state of Texas. A seasoned college administrator, Pierce Burnette has held numerous administrative posts in higher education, including serving as interim president at Pierce College in Puyallup, Washington, and vice president for administration and chief financial officer at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. A native of Cleveland, Pierce Burnette is an advocate for civic engagement and serves on the board of directors of Girls Scouts of Central Texas, Leadership Austin, and the Greater Austin Area African American Chamber of Commerce. Pierce Burnette is the first female president of the merged Huston-Tillotson University and only the second female president in the institution’s 140-year-history. Pierce-Burnette earned an Ed.D. in higher education administration from the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.
