Texas Governor Greg Abbott has directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to launch an investigation into Texas Southern University following a state audit that revealed evidence of financial mismanagement by the HBCU’s leadership, according to a report from KHOU 11.
Texas Southern University’s financial status and management have been under review by the Texas State Auditor’s Office for the past six months. Recently, state auditor Lisa R. Collier sent an update on the review process to the Legislative Audit Committee. According to Collier, the Auditor’s Office found 743 invoices totaling more than $282 million for vendors whose contracts had expired, as well as 8,144 invoices totaling some $158 million with invoices dated before their requisition dates. Furthermore, the audit found that the HBCU has not been conducting annual physical inventories and its system for tracking assets is inconsistent and outdated.
“The Texas State Auditor uncovered significant financial and operational issues with Texas Southern University’s accounting procedures, alleging the potential misappropriation of hundreds of millions of dollars,” Gov. Abbott said in a press release. “Today, I directed the Texas Rangers to launch an investigation and called on the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts to assist them in their efforts to fully analyze their finances. Waste, fraud, and abuse will not be tolerated. TSU’s Board of Regents and all university officials must fully cooperate with these investigations to ensure taxpayer dollars are not squandered.”
In addition to the investigation, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick announced plans to contact Gov. Abbott and Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows to agree on budget execution language that would freeze Texas Southern University’s current state appropriation.
“I don’t want one more taxpayer dollar spent until this issue is resolved,” Lt. Gov. Patrick posted on X. “The losers are not only Texas taxpayers, but the students of TSU, having no idea that funding meant for their quality education was either fraudulently spent or thrown away by sloppy, unprofessional accounting processes.”
Some state lawmakers have criticized Gov. Abbot’s directive. Representative Jolanda Jones, whose district includes Texas Southern University, noted that Gov. Abbot is the one responsible for appointing the HBCU’s board of regents.
“If there’s any malfeasance going on, what does that have to do with the university when you appointed the people who run the university?” said Representative Jones.
Following Gov. Abbott’s announcement, members of the TSU board of regents released a statement acknowledging the HBCU’s financial challenges and their intent to cooperate with the investigation.
“The Board fully acknowledges that Texas Southern has faced historical challenges related to financial oversight, procurement practices, and compliance with prior state audits,” reads the statement. “These issues have persisted across multiple administrations and now are being addressed.”
The statement continues, “The Board remains committed to build confidence in Texas Southern University’s stewardship of public resources and fulfilling our mission to provide quality higher education to our students. We believe that full cooperation and transparency are essential to trust and securing Texas Southern’s future as a vital institution for Texas.”
Once again, our beloved HBCUs continue to make it EASIER for those who DESPISE HBCUs to be DISMANTLED for this ongoing upper echelon administrative and operational MALFESEANCE. Each individual who knowingly participated in said illegal activities should be IMMEDIATELY FIRED along with facing severe criminal charges.