The Chronicle‘s Matthew Tresaugue has done some excellent work covering Priscilla Slade and her spending scandal at Texas Southern University.
Unfortunately, Tresaugue’s name is nowhere to be found on the weekend reporting on the Slade affair, but we have one story that’s pretty much a recap of his reporting and two stories heavy on emoting and enabling.
To start off the B-Team reporting, KHOU-11 runs Pam Easton’s Associated Press account of the Slade scandal. Here’s an excerpt:
Priscilla Slade was one of Texas Southern University’s biggest cheerleaders as its president, nearly doubling enrollment, constructing new academic buildings and overhauling the financial aid system.
Slade became a popular and high-profile president during more than six years leading the historically black university — the alma mater of the late U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan and other notables.
But her accomplishments have taken a back seat to scandal.
Slade was fired last week and faces a criminal investigation into her use of state money. She’s accused of improperly spending $87,000 to furnish her home, $138,000 on landscaping and exterior improvements, and $56,000 on security related equipment and labor.
That all seems accurate and familiar. Who knows, maybe Easton even read Tresaugue’s reporting, even though it’s nowhere acknowledged in the AP story.
The Chronicle posted a story today by David Ellison about “revived anxiety” at TSU:
Texas Southern University regents last week conjured up ghosts of the past.
In voting 8-1 to fire President Priscilla Slade, the board revived bitter memories among alumni and supporters in Houston’s black community of the revolving door in the president’s office before Slade took over in 1999. The action also invoked a lurking dread: that lawmakers in Austin might try to merge the historically black school with another university system or — worse — shut it down.
“I think the merger issue is coming up, absolutely,” warned Minister Robert Muhammad, of the Nation of Islam’s southwest region. “It’s difficult when you lose your independence. That’s about to happen here.”
While other officials were quick to dispute that, the reaction shows that anxiety over Slade’s departure is clearly about more than money. Even those who support her dismissal — amid allegations of nearly $650,000 in questionable spending — credit Slade with saving the university from financial ruin. Alumni and other supporters fear the loss of momentum for future leadership.
“Without her leadership, I’m not really sure what the future holds for Texas Southern,” said Keith Scott, a member of the TSU Alumni Austin Chapter. “Her leadership was very important and very crucial.”
Here’s a novel thought for Mr. Ellison (who actually complains in the story that “[a]ttempts to contact alumni who supported the firing … were unsuccessful”): Instead of interviewing a handful of “important” loudmouths, why not go to the campus and ask as many students as possible what they think of a university president who improperly uses university funds to support a lavish personal lifestyle, rather than making sure those funds support student aid or academics?
The Chronicle‘s insipid “Sunday Conversation” also makes a return (unfortunately), and it’s a conversation between a TSU alum and… David Ellison (busy guy). Here’s the introduction:
When Katrina LeVert learned of the firing of Texas Southern University President Priscilla Slade last week, the TSU graduate sent an e-mail to the school’s alumni affairs office opposing the governing board’s decision. LeVert, a legislative and regulatory specialist for a Houston company with a degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Mich., attended TSU from 1989-1993, before Slade was named president in 1999. A native of Biloxi, Miss., LeVert said she was so impressed with Slade’s performance that she became active in the university’s alumni association. Chronicle reporter David Ellison spoke with her last week.
The next time you don’t like something that happens in the city of Houston — like a white-collar thief being terminated for cause — perhaps you should email Mr. Ellison ([email protected]) and let him know about it. Maybe you too can take part in a Sunday Conversation with the local Hearst daily! I’d suggest keeping it pithy, as Bill O’Reilly says.
