Joseph A. Pierce papers

The papers of mathematician Joseph A. Pierce, encompasses personal and professional materials documenting his life in academia, as a mathematics professor and as a university administrator. The collection contains correspondence, university records such as report cards and degrees, financial records, ephemera, reports, proposals, publications, and notes. Much of his collection deals with issues in higher education during the civil rights era and briefly touches on the unrest at Texas Southern University in the late 1960s.

Items of note include correspondence, newspaper clippings, and ephemera related to Dr. Pierce’s first book, Negro Business and Business Education. The collection also contains materials related to Pierce’s work as a liaison to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) including correspondence, the Manned Spacecraft Center’s contract with TSU, the Goddard Space and Flight Center, and proposals for affirmative action and increasing diversity within the program.

The newspaper clippings in the collections contain articles related to Dr. Pierce’s work in Atlanta, higher education issues, and Texas Southern University (TSU) specifically. They provide valuable context to Dr. Pierce’s tenure at TSU. Also included are reports about issues in higher education, such as African American student academic performance, as well as proposals and plans to increase diversity, improve academic performance, and implement affirmative action.

The photographs consist of portraits of Dr. Pierce in addition to photos of his family.