Harvest Collier
Dr. Harvest Collier
B.S. Chemistry 1972 | M.S. 1974 | Ph.D. 1977
“One of my favorite memories during my time as a MSU student was the chance encounter in 1977 with Mr. Hunter Henry,” said Harvest Collier, a three-time Mississippi State graduate. Then a doctoral student finishing his degree, Collier had no idea that greeting Henry in a hallway in Hand Lab would change the trajectory of his life.
“He indicated to me that he was looking for people to come to work for his company. I shared with him that I had just completed my Ph.D. requirements and had begun looking for employment. That encounter resulted in an immediate 2-hour meeting that ended with offers to work for Dow.”
That life-shifting moment was only possible because Collier had already spent years immersed in MSU’s chemistry department. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. on campus, gaining what he described as “strong skills for engaging in and learning from my environment.” His path was shaped by a series of formative opportunities that began early in his undergraduate years.
“There were three distinct experiences that were impactful,” he shared. One of the earliest was his student work-study and part-time work in the chemistry department and the Mississippi Chemical Regulatory, where Donald Emerich, who served as chemistry department head, and James Minyard, director of the State Chemical Regulatory, guided his “initial hands-on discovery of chemical substances and their applications.”
Another key moment came when he was invited to join an undergraduate chemical research project, giving him access to graduate students and his first real practice applying the scientific method. A third milestone arrived during his master’s and Ph.D. studies when Eugene Grimley became his mentor, providing “sound guidance toward conducting quantitative chemical research” and modeling professional conduct.
After graduation, Collier followed the spark those mentors helped ignite. “My professional career roles include working as an industrial chemical researcher at the Dow Chemical Company, a professor of chemistry at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, and as president and CEO of the Alliance for Advanced Coating Research,” he said. His work extended well beyond traditional research, with major efforts in leadership, student success, faculty development, and applied chemical investigation.
When asked to reflect on his greatest professional achievement, Collier pointed to his time at Missouri S&T. “One of my most important professional achievements was leading the organization and development of a new administrative division: Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies.” That effort, Collier said, drove measurable institutional change, improving first-year retention and strengthening academic resources, experiential learning, and campus-wide coordination.
Now retired, Collier describes this season as “life after work.” He stays active through alumni engagement with MSU’s Black alumni community, reading and writing about student success, woodworking, studying martial arts and spending time with family. He remains connected to MSU through phone calls and Zoom meetings, finding purpose in encouraging the next generation.
To today’s Mississippi State students, his message is direct: “Ascertain the focus needed to degree completion, seek and utilize all applicable resources, pursue your personal and professional development diligently, and make academic excellence be part of being the best student you can be.”
And if he had to summarize his own experience in one word, Collier already knows the answer: “alchemized.”