Hank Johnston

Hank Johnston 

B.S. Mathematics, 1965 

College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Executive Advisory Board 

“One of my proudest Mississippi State achievements was giving the commencement address in 1993,” said Henry “Hank” Johnston, a 1965 MSU graduate, whose impressive career led to his selection as commencement speaker. 

Johnston graduated with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics with a minor in chemistry. He said MSU and mathematics were easy choices for him when it came to his education. “I grew up in a Bulldog family, and there wasn’t another choice for college. My mother was a math teacher at my high school in Kosciusko, and math was my favorite subject.” 

He described his experiences in MSU’s College of Arts & Sciences as “foundational.” 

“I graduated with 42 semester hours of mathematics as an undergraduate since I was working full-time in the University Data Center. I believe mathematical reasoning, logical thinking and problem-solving helped develop the ability to systematically develop computer solutions to complex problems.” 

Johnston said Mississippi State gave him opportunities that shaped his entire career. Married after his sophomore year and looking for work, he reached out to A. P. Posey, his former high school principal who was then MSU’s assistant registrar. At the time, the only computer language taught at MSU was Fortran, an early programming language created for scientific and engineering calculations. Posey encouraged Johnston to explore computer work and connected him with Percy Baker, director of MSU’s business data center in Lee Hall, who hired him as the center’s first undergraduate employee. “If Mr. Posey and Mr. Baker hadn’t given me those opportunities, I don’t know what career path I would have chosen,” he said.  

“After graduation, I went to work for IBM Federal Systems in Huntsville, Alabama, on the Apollo Saturn Program, pursuing President Kennedy’s goal of putting a man on the moon. I started as a programmer, writing test programs to check out the rocket prior to launch, and advanced into management. Prior to being promoted to management, I was the project leader on the flight program for Apollo 8, which was the first manned moon rocket launch. Apollo 8 was the first flight to circumvent the moon and was the final launch before the man on the moon launch,” Johnston said. “After IBM, I went to work for Ross Perot’s Electronic Data Systems company in Dallas and eventually became a vice president. After retiring from EDS, I moved to Bluffton, South Carolina, where I was elected mayor.” 

Johnston continues to stay connected to his MSU community through serving on the College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Executive Advisory Board.  

From his own experiences, Johnston shares the core principles that carried him through his career: “Stay true to yourself, always try your best and treat unpleasant events or tasks as a learning experience.”