HOUSTON
As president of Texas Southern University, Dr. Priscilla Slade was building a legacy —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 at the helm of the historically Black university.
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.
Slade has appealed her firing and says some expenses were necessary to entertain donors. Slade, who has a doctorate in accounting from the University of Texas, blamed a paperwork error for the landscaping bills and has since reimbursed the school.
Ronald G. Franklin, one of Slade’s attorney’s, wrote a letter to attorneys for the school’s regents saying Slade acknowledged the furniture belonged to the school when a visiting regent complimented her on the decor, “a scene at odds with the notion of any misconduct,” the letter read.
