Student Publications
University of Houston
151C Communications Bldg
Houston, TX 77204-4015
713.743.5350

©1991-2007
Student Publications,
All rights reserved.

Last modified:

Contact:
ktruitt@uh.edu

Opinion
 

Staff Editorial

                        Robyn Morrow             Chris Elliott                        
                                               John Arterbury       Caitlin Cuppernull

What TSU needs most: leadership 

"Accountability is the new order of the day at Texas Southern University," wrote TSU's interim President J. Timothy Boddie Jr. in a guest editorial for the Houston Chronicle earlier this year. "It is not a mirage."

Let's hope so.

Given the 23 pages of recommendations issued by the special committee ordered by Gov. Rick Perry to give the shipwrecked university a chance to sail again, accountability ought not be simply the order of the day, but its guiding principle for any future endeavor. The repairs begin with TSU submitting to continuous audits by state officials and a serious shake-up of its Board of Regents.

Of course, it will take some time before the inertia of its previous leaders' misdirection wears off -- the closure of its parking garages and shuttle service is just the latest sign of TSU's faltering ways. Before TSU can dream about progress, officials must not rest until they halt the university's downward trajectory and restore a steady path. 

Installing new leaders who are committed to finding and keeping that direction is essential. Indeed, the result of the university's current presidential search will perhaps be the most important moment in TSU's nearly 80-year history.

Some tough decisions await TSU's current and future leaders, not the least of which is tightening its enrollment criteria, while also maintaining its position as an educator of those who may not otherwise not take a class after high school.

Sitting not a stone's throw from UH, TSU can and should be a viable higher education partner in the Houston region. Whatever role UH can fill in TSU's restructuring should be offered generously. Our system is not perfect, nor is it any more experienced than TSU, but as community partners, we owe it to the city and the institution of higher education to restore TSU's esteem.