Colette Burnette

Huston-Tillotson University

Word by Jessica Devenyns  Photos by Eric Morales

President Burnette excuses herself as knotted oak doors to the Huston-Tillotson presidential office grind open, and we find her having her face done by one of her interns. “I don’t wear makeup; I’m just a natural girl. But in my position as president, I must be a different person,” she explains. For a woman whose office is under the eaves of a building that is fondly referred to as the White House, this admission seems out of place.

However, being a “natural” has taken Dr. Burnette far in her career. Originally an engineer at Proctor & Gamble, after a move to Georgia, a confrontation with post-Civil Rights southern culture, and a visit to Martin Luther King’s alma mater, Morehouse College, Dr. Burnette found that her nature was nudging her to switch into higher education.

Dr. Burnette believes that “education is a weapon against what ails us.” She adds that “men and women alike can benefit from broadening their minds through self-edification.” Although, she does concede that “being a minority makes me more attentive to that.”

Being both African American and female, Dr. Burnette is no stranger to swimming upstream against the social current. Her perseverance, however, is remarkable. She attributes her grit to both her upbringing in inner-city Cleveland, Ohio and the inherent need for women to work harder to rise into the upper echelons.

“I think women, whether it’s fair or not, when you’re in a space that’s non-traditional, you have to have a deep sense of confidence that you are just as good, if not better, than your counterparts, and you have to believe it. And that you have to have something to back it up,” she says.

As a result, Dr. Burnette finds that a large portion of her job is helping young women climb the Jacob’s ladder that society has set for them to climb. “As I have gotten older and I’ve clearly progressed in my career, I try to instill a sense of confidence in young women that I didn’t know I had,” she explains.

This drive to advance her young protégées has blossomed out of Dr. Burnette’s deep, internal heart spring. Or, as she puts it, “I just care very deeply about people.” For her, that means helping women find a leg up to compete in what can often be a man’s world. The best technique to do that, she confesses, is one she learned from her daughter. “You can never be over-educated or over-dressed.” Both qualities, Dr. Burnette explains, allow you to compete on equal footing while remaining true to your feminine identity.

Dr. Burnette smiles as she discloses, “I like to be treated like a lady. I like for people to respect that I am a lady.”

Contact:
Huston-Tillotson University
(512) 505-3000
900 Chicon St.
htu.edu