John Mallette

John Mallette (c. 1932 - August 21, 1995) was an American biologist, academic administrator and civic leader. He was a professor of Biology at Tennessee State University and an administrator at the University of Tennessee at Nashville. He did research on cholesterol, oral contraceptives and cyclamates. He is the namesake of John Mallette Drive in Nashville, Tennessee.

Early life

Mallette was born circa 1932 in Houston, Texas. He graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana, where he earned a bachelor's degree in Chemistry. He took a break from studying to serve in the United States Army for two years. He subsequently earned a master's degree from Texas Southern University and a PhD from Pennsylvania State University, both in Biology.

Academic career

Mallette was a Biology professor at Tennessee State University from 1962 to 1974. He also taught part-time at the University of Tennessee at Nashville (UTN) from 1964 to 1974. In 1975, he resigned from TSU to serve as the vice chancellor of academic affairs at UTN for five years. He subsequently resumed his faculty position at TSU, where he taught for over three decades over the course of his career.

Research contributions

Mallette did research on the effects of cholesterol on mice. In particular, he studied the relationship between stress factors and their cholesterol rates. Mallette also studied the side effects of oral contraceptives. According to The Tennessean, he also did "pioneering research into the harmful effects of cyclamates on animals which were later applied to humans."

Mallette was the president of the Tennessee Academy of Science in 1975.

Civic activities

Mallette was a member of the NAACP, and he served on the boards of the United Negro College Fund, the National Conference of Christians and Jews, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He was honored as a Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great and a Knight of Peter Claver.

Personal life, death and legacy

Mallette married Pazette Berryman; they had a son and two daughters.

Mallette died on August 21, 1995 in Nashville. His funeral was held at the Church of the Assumption, and he was buried in the Greenwood Cemetery. In 2001, North Hydes Ferry in Bordeaux, a neighborhood of Nashville, was renamed John Mallette Drive in his honor thanks to councilmember Melvin Black.