Percy A. Pierre
January 3,1939
The first African American in the country to earn a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering,
Electrical Engineer, Mathematician
Percy Anthony Pierre was born in St. James Parish, Louisiana on January 3, 1939. He received a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1961 and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1963 from Notre Dame University. Pierre earned a Doctor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1967 from The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. He is the first African American in the country to earn a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering. In 1971, Dr. Pierre was appointed Dean of the School of Engineering at Howard University. From 1977-1981, Professor Pierre was appointed Assistant Secretary for Research, Development, and Regulation for the U.S. Department of the Army. Dr. Pierre served as an Engineering Management Consultant beginning in 1981.Pierre managed a $12 billion annual budget for research and development that included the completion of the development and initial production of the Abrams tank in 1979 and the Patriot missile system and Apache helicopter in 1980. Dr. Pierre was appointed President of Prairie View A&M University from 1983-89 and Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan (1990-1995). Since 1995 he has been a full-time Professor of Electrical Engineering at MSU.
In 2009, Pierre was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering for service as assistant secretary of the Army, contributions to engineering education, and leadership in creating the national minority engineering effort. This is one of the highest professional honors accorded an engineer.
Pierre is married to Olga A. Markham. They have two grown daughters, Kristin and Allison Pierre.
Pierre’s career spans more than four decades and includes tenure as:
- Dean of the College of Engineering, Architecture, and Computer Sciences (CEACS) at Howard University in Washington, D.C., 1971–77
- Program officer for the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, 1973–75
- Assistant Secretary of the U. S. Army for Research, Development, and Acquisition, 1977–81 (the first African-American to hold that position or similar positions in the armed services)
- Acting Secretary of the U. S. Army, January 1981
- President of Prairie View A&M University, 1983–89
- Vice President of Research and graduate studies at Michigan State University, 1990–95
- Professor of Electrical and computer engineering at Michigan State University, 1990–present