Donald Leopold Mullett (April 10, 1929 – April 19, 2013) was an American educator and academic administrator who served as interim president at three historically black universities:

Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) Lincoln University (LU) is a public state-related historically black university (HBCU) near Oxford, Pennsylvania. Founded as the private Ashmun Institute in 1854, it has been a public institution since 1972 and was the United States' first deg ...

, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, and Lincoln University (Missouri).

Early life and education

Mullett was born and raised in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, youngest of four children of Festus and Josephine Mullett. He graduated from Commerce High School in 1947 and received a BA in mathematics from

in 1951, an MBA from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

in 1952, and a PhD in urban economics from the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

in 1981. He also served in the United States Army during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

Career

Mullett began his career in 1954 at the United Mutual Life Insurance Company in New York City, where he rose through the ranks to become vice president and assistant treasurer. He worked briefly as a cost analyst at the Equitable Assurance Company of America from 1962 to 1963 before transitioning to higher education administration, returning to Lincoln University in 1963 to serve as assistant to the vice president of fiscal affairs, comptroller, business manager, and (starting in 1969) vice president of fiscal affairs and treasurer. He served as Lincoln University's interim president from July 1, 1985, to February 1, 1987, succeeding the retiring

Herman Branson Herman Russell Branson (August 14, 1914 – June 7, 1995) was an American physicist, chemist, best known for his research on the alpha helix protein structure, and was also the president of two colleges. He received a fellowship from the Rosenw ...

and stepping aside upon the inauguration of

Niara Sudarkasa Niara Sudarkasa (August 14, 1938 – May 31, 2019) was an American scholar, educator, Africanist and anthropologist who holds thirteen honorary degrees, and is the recipient of nearly 100 civic and professional awards. In 1989 ''Essence'' magaz ...

. Mullett left Lincoln in 1989 to serve as vice president of finance and fiscal affairs at

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,000 ...

. He served as vice president of fiscal affairs at Jarvis Christian College from 1990 to 1993. He returned to Pennsylvania in 1993 to become vice president of business affairs at Cheyney University, serving as interim president from June 1995 to July 1996. He later served as interim president of Lincoln University in

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. He also served on the board of trustees at Lincoln University and later at

Oakwood University Oakwood University is a private, historically black Seventh-day Adventist university in Huntsville, Alabama. It is the only HBCU owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Oakwood University is accredited by the Southern Associa ...

before eventually retiring to Pearland, Texas.

Personal life

Mullett was married to Mildred Mullett and had two daughters: Barbara Louise Mullett and Donna Mullett King. He was a lifelong Seventh Day Adventist and jazz aficionado. He died in 2013 at the age of 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullett Donald 1929 births 2013 deaths 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American educators Academics from New York (state) African-American academic administrators Educators from New York City Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) alumni New York University alumni University of Delaware alumni Presidents of Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) Cheyney University of Pennsylvania faculty Presidents of Lincoln University (Missouri) United States Army personnel of the Korean War