Austin Chamber Of Commerce - Blog: Dr. Colette Pierce Burnette Named Austinite Of The Year

Press release from the Austin Chamber of Commerce - Blog:

01/13/2022

The Austin Chamber of Commerce has named Dr. Colette Pierce Burnette, president and CEO of Huston-Tillotson University, as the 2021 Austinite of the Year.

Under Burnette’s leadership, Huston-Tillotson, a private, Historically Black University in East Austin, grew its endowment by more than 55%. The university also partnered with Apple to create the African American Male Teacher Initiative, which was Burnette’s “passion project," and it collaborated with Tesla on a manufacturing engineering curriculum and a career progression internship for undergraduates, according to the media release. Burnette also completed numerous projects on its deferred maintenance list including the construction of the Sandra Joy Anderson Health and Wellness Center – the first new building on campus since 1974 – and the remodeling of King-Seabrook Chapel.

As stated in a recent piece by the Austin American-Statesman, Burnette was not only selected for her work in accelerating and expanding the city's historically Black university, but also for her citywide civic leadership, including crucial service as co-chair for the Mayor's Task Force on Institutional Racism and Systemic Inequities.

This press release was produced by the Austin Chamber of Commerce - Blog. The views expressed here are the author’s own.