Perry: I'll consider alternate plan for TSU

More on Gov. Rick Perry's proposal to oust the Texas Southern University regents and appoint a state conservator to run the troubled university: Perry has agreed to consider an alternate proposal from the Texas Legislative Black Caucus if the group can come up with a plan that would get the school back on track as quickly as conservatorship. "If members of the black caucus can bring us a tool ... that gets us there, that they can get passed in the Legislature, then we're willing to consider that," Perry spokesman Robert Black said. "If not, then the governor is committed to turning this around and the only tool left is conservatorship."

A possible plan from the black caucus could involve temporarily giving the TSU president the power to change administrative structure and make hiring decisions without the permission of the Board of Regents — the same thing a conservator would do. The important thing, said state Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Houston), is that the person in charge has ties to the school: "A president of the university has a commitment, a connection and understanding that 'This is my organization,"' Turner said. "A conservator is more detached ... and that, for me, is the critical difference." TSU is now under the leadership of J. Timothy Boddie, a retired Air Force brigadier general who the TSU regents appointed interim president in November.

According to the AP, there's concern on the TSU campus that conservatorship would put the university's accreditation in jeopardy, but Black said that's not the case: He said the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has met with several accreditation agencies, and they said they "would welcome a strong, decisive action by the state because that would show some proactive effort." And quick, decisive action — whatever form it takes — is what Perry is looking for, Black said: "What the governor is not interested in is just the same ol' thing: 'Well, let's just appoint a new board and hope everything works out for the best.'"