Celebrating Our Honorees
2012 Commencement Speaker and Honorary Degree Recipients
Dr. Hercules Pinkney
President Emeritus Montgomery College
Dr. Hercules Pinkney is president emeritus of Montgomery College. Previously he served as vice president and provost of the institution, where he led the College’s information technology instructional programs, the Center for Teaching and Learning, service learning, Student Employment Services, and the Carl D. Perkins Grant Program. Additionally, he served as chief academic and student services administrator of the Germantown Campus. After his retirement in 2009, Dr. Pinkney, at the behest of the Board of Trustees, stepped in to serve as interim president of the College.
Dr. Pinkney served as the College’s point person for an innovative project to construct the Life Sciences Park, which includes a county-operated technology incubator and a Bioscience Education Center, on the Germantown Campus.
Governor Martin O’Malley appointed Dr. Pinkney to the 15-member Maryland Life Sciences Advisory Board in 2007. He has been reappointed to two additional consecutive two-year terms. Dr. Pinkney served as the 2005 chairman of the Board of Directors of the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Pinkney also served as a charter member of the Board of Directors of the Maryland-India Business Roundtable.
Leadership Montgomery recognized him as Leader of the Year in 2010 for his steadfast dedication to the College. The African American Chamber of Commerce named him Educator of the Year in 2003.
Prior to joining Montgomery College, he served in various capacities at Prince George’s Community College, the Maryland State Board for Community Colleges, Northern Virginia Community College, the former Federal City College in Washington, D.C., Benedict College in South Carolina, and in two public school systems.
He earned a B.S. from Claflin College (cum laude), a master’s degree from South Carolina State College, and a doctorate in educational administration from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Dr. Pinkney remains an active leader, Bible study teacher, and training facilitator at the Breath of Life Seventh-day Adventist Church in Fort Washington, Maryland. In 2011, Dr. Pinkney received the Man of Honor Spirit of Community Award from the Washington Metro Area Women’s Ministry. In January 2012, he began a two-year term on the Board of Trustees of Holy Cross Hospital.
Dr. Pinkney and his wife, Patricia, live in Silver Spring. They are the parents of three adult children and five grandchildren.
May 18, 2012, Montgomery College 65th Commencement. © Copyright 2012 Montgomery College. All rights reserved.