AUSTIN  — The Inauguration Convocation for Colette Pierce Burnette, Ed.D., will be held Saturday, Nov. 7, at 10 a.m. on the campus in King-Seabrook Chapel. The Huston-Tillotson University Board of Trustees announced Pierce Burnette as the institution’s sixth President and Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1. Pierce Burnette becomes the first female president of the merged Huston-Tillotson University and only the second female president in the institutions’ 140-year history. The public is invited to the four-days of inauguration activities to welcome the new president and share in the celebration of the institution’s music, faith, and community components.
Pierce Burnette is an experienced leader in higher education with a deep commitment to student success. In 2012, Pierce Burnette served as interim President at Pierce College in Puyallup, Washington, leading the college within a district environment and working collaboratively with executive leadership to serve more than 30,000 students each year. Pierce Burnette had an extensive career at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, from 1999 – 2012 that scaled to Vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer, providing financial, analytical, physical plant, auxiliary services, capital construction, and human resources leadership to achieve mission-based goals. In addition, at Central State University Pierce Burnette served as Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer.
Her educational accomplishments include earning a Master of Science Degree in Administration with honors from Georgia College in Milledgeville in 1983 after completing a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Ohio State University in Columbus in 1980. In 2003, Pierce Burnette was accepted and completed the Harvard Graduate School’s Education Management Development Program. Pierce Burnette recently completed an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration at the University of Pennsylvania.
Inauguration events are as follows: On Thursday, November 5 at 7 p.m. the Step Afrika company will perform in King-Seabrook Chapel. Step Afrika was founded in 1994 as the first professional company dedicated to the tradition of stepping. Stepping, developed by African American college fraternity and sorority members in the early 1900s, remains a popular form of expression and entertainment today. Step Afrika now ranks as one of the top ten African American dance companies in the United States. Dancers perform South African gumboot, Zulu, as well as high energy step routines.
On Friday, the HT concert choir, under the direction of Gloria Quinlan; the Elite Combo, under the direction of Javier Stuppard; and guest pianist Jenny Cruz, from Central State University, will perform exciting, thrilling notes of optimism as a musical tribute to the President. Cruz received her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Indiana University-South Bend, Manhattan School of Music, and University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music, respectively. Cruz has worked with the Boys Choir of Harlem School and taught at the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University. She has played on the international stage including recitals in Israel, the Czech Republic, Guam, Italy, Serbia, and in many cities in the United States.
Saturday’s inauguration events include the Investiture at 10 a.m. and the Inauguration Gala. Austin’s popular Blue Mist band known for their heart and soul and rising blues stars, the Peterson Brothers, will highlight the Gala, scheduled on Saturday, November 7 at 6 p.m. at the Sheraton Austin at the Capitol, 701 East 11th Street. The black-tie affair includes dinner, dancing, and an auction.
The inauguration celebration will close with a worship service on Sunday, November 8 at 10:30 a.m. at David Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, 2211 E Martin Luther King, Boulevard, where the Rev. Joseph C. Parker, Jr. serves as the pastor. The worship service will also feature the HT concert choir and Elite Combo.
All events, except the Gala, are free and open to the public. Gala admission for $140 per person in celebration of the University’s 140th anniversary may be secured at http://www.cvent.com/d/mrq65w. For more information, to make hotel reservation, or to RSVP as an investiture delegate, visit htu.edu, events@htu.edu, or call 512.505.3073.
