TX Governor will fill rest of seats on TSU board

[Bornthrilla]

May 29, 2007, 11:30PM
Governor decides he'll fill rest of seats on TSU board
Announcement follows legislators' denial of plans for more drastic move


By MATTHEW TRESAUGUE and KRISTEN MACK
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle


Gov. Rick Perry has decided to fill the remaining seats on Texas Southern University's governing board after state lawmakers rejected more drastic proposals for reshaping the troubled school's leadership.

"It's going to take us longer to do what needs to be done because of the lack of cooperation with the Legislature," Perry said Tuesday, the day after the legislative session ended.

The decision comes six weeks after he called for TSU's regents to resign in favor of a state-appointed conservator with extraordinary powers to make changes. Perry had supported a compromise bill that would have allowed him to replace a university's regents with a smaller, reform-minded board in times of crisis, but it unraveled in the House last week.

Perry now faces four vacancies on the nine-member board. He chose five members recently after the last of the previous regents resigned under pressure.

It could take another six months to complete the board, but Perry's spokesman was hesitant to say that every slot will be filled.

"What's most important is that the board has a quorum, and the governor will look to fill those positions in the near future," Ted Royer said. "But in terms of a timetable, his philosophy on appointees is that it's more important to get it right than to get it fast."

Conservatorship is off the table for now, unless the legislative audit committee meets and grants Perry that power. Royer said that appears unlikely.

State Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, blocked the bill in the House and prodded lawmakers to remove from the budget a provision requiring greater state oversight of TSU. Turner described the last-minute amendment as onerous.

"We may disagree on what those tools need to be," Turner said. "But I hope we can agree the university has a place in the academic community and needs to be not only maintained but enhanced. TSU needs strict accountability."

Completing the board is a positive step, Turner said. He said Perry's appointments should reflect the view that TSU is a statewide institution, not a community-based school.

Rep. Garnet Coleman, a Houston Democrat whose district includes the 11,000-student campus, said TSU is at risk without stricter oversight.

Chronicle reporter R.G. Ratcliffe contributed to this report.

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[Bigboy]

And we think we got problems!!! Actually, this is similar to the problems we had at the end of Dr. Dowdy's tenure as chancellor. Dr. Fort came in and cleaned house. He had to clean house in order to get us back on track.

[aggiejazz]

True, true but at least Dr. Dowdy could put some of the blame on the state for decades of neglect. I think Dr. Fort did have a track record of being a good administrator and you know what so did Renick.

Dr. Battle took over a troubled Coppin State but exactly how well did he do to correct those institutional failures? Does any Aggies in Baltimore know the straight skinny on Battle's tenure there?

[Maxell]

He was only there 3 years so he only got a few things done. His main accomplishment was getting money from the state of Maryland for years on neglect.

[Bornthrilla]

June 10, 2007, 11:40PM
Finding takers to lead TSU won't be easy

Richard Holland knew little of the problems at Texas Southern University until friends urged him to be part of the solution.

Because the idea of public service appealed to the Ivy League-educated management consultant, Holland applied to be a regent. Six months later, he is at the table as the state's largest historically black university ponders difficult choices for its future.

The governor's office is hoping other well-qualified people follow Holland's lead. But the job appeared less than desirable even before scandals and administrative missteps prompted Gov. Rick Perry to oust the previous board last month.

State records show that fewer than 50 people applied for spots on the TSU board over the past six years, while twice as many applied for the University of Texas System's governing board in just the past year.

Perry's desire to turn TSU around could hinge on his ability to recruit promising candidates to the governing board, lawmakers and education experts say.

"His ability to persuade is more meaningful than the number of applications," said Richard Novak, executive director of the Center for Public Trusteeship and Governance at the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. "If the right people are in place, they can make a difference."

The nine regents are appointed by the governor for six-year terms. The state Senate must confirm a nomination during the ensuing legislative session.

Regents are not paid, but the spots usually are coveted because of the prestige. In effect, regents oversee cutting-edge scientists and potentially influence the lives of future generations. Their lengthy terms are intended to provide stability and to insulate them from politics.

A lot to learn
But regents generally lack substantial expertise in university issues, such as enrollment, fundraising and shared governance with faculty members. Forty percent of board members said they were "slightly" or "not at all prepared" for the job, according to a recent nationwide survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Michael Cemo, a University of Houston System regent since 2001, said the appointment comes with a steep learning curve. Even with his experience on corporate and nonprofit boards, he needed a year of study to understand the university's operations.

The job may be even more difficult at TSU, Cemo said, because every move by the board will be scrutinized intensely by alumni, students, community leaders and lawmakers.

The previous regents were sharply criticized after a series of financial and management problems, including a spending scandal that led to criminal charges against TSU's then-president, Priscilla Slade. A jury recently sentenced her chief financial officer, Quintin Wiggins, to 10 years in prison for his role in the matter.

The board, which Perry appointed and later pressured to resign, included attorneys, bankers, a Methodist minister, Riverside General Hospital's chief executive and an administrator from the troubled North Forest school district.

Before resigning, regent Belinda Griffin acknowledged at a state Senate Finance Committee hearing in February that the board needed help in key areas, such as accounting.

"We could clearly strengthen the board," she said, responding to a question from Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas.

Rather than add a missing ingredient to the board, Perry decided to start from scratch. He initially wanted to turn over control of TSU to one person: a state-appointed conservator.

After lawmakers balked at the idea, Perry pushed for a five-member board, which ideally would make changes more quickly than a full complement of regents.

The plan unraveled in the House shortly after he appointed five regents.

So Perry has four seats to fill, but he may leave some vacant.

"What's most important is that the board has a quorum, and the governor will look to fill those positions in the near future," Perry spokesman Ted Royer said. "But in terms of a timetable, his philosophy on appointees is that it's more important to get it right than to get it fast."

The governor's office has received 32 applications for seats on the board over the past year.

Perry could choose from Tracye McDaniel, chief operating officer of the Greater Houston Partnership business advocacy group; David Stephens, owner of automobile dealerships across Texas, and Thelma Clardy, a DeSoto city councilwoman, among others.

Another applicant is Kevin Daniels, whose brother represented Wiggins in his recent criminal trial. An English professor at Prairie View A&M University, Daniels has advocated turning TSU into a private, self-sustaining institution.

Big names already on board
So far, Perry has picked some prominent Texans for the board, including three from his advisory committee on TSU.

Former state Rep. Glenn Lewis led the committee and is now chairman of the regents. Austin lawyers Gary Bledsoe and Richard Salwen also moved from the committee to the governing board.

The governor's office recruited Javier Loya, chairman and chief executive of Choice Energy, a brokerage house for natural gas and electricity and a marketer of wholesale power.

For the remaining seats, state Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, said, the board needs more women and people with ties to Houston. Only Loya lives and works in the city.

Chronicle reporter Kristen Mack contributed to this report.

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