Filling empty TSU regent seats could be a tough job

So Gov. Rick Perry has appointed five regents to the Texas Southern University board. That leaves four seats open, and though there has been a surge in the number of applicants in the last year, finding people to fill those empty spots won't be easy, as the Chronicle notes today.

State records show that fewer than 50 people applied for spots on the TSU board over the past six years, while twice as many applied for the University of Texas System's governing board in just the past year.

Perry's desire to turn TSU around could hinge on his ability to recruit promising candidates to the governing board, lawmakers and education experts say.

"His ability to persuade is more meaningful than the number of applications," said Richard Novak, executive director of the Center for Public Trusteeship and Governance at the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. "If the right people are in place, they can make a difference."

Interestingly enough, the article goes on to say that Perry's office has had 32 applications for places on the TSU board in the past year — which we assume means there were less than 18 in the five years before that. We also figure that the 32 applied because of the recent turmoil at TSU and the turnover on the board. But as the Chron notes, it's not going to be all that easy to find qualified people to fill the four empty spots: According to a national survey from The Chronicle of Higher Education, 40 percent of regents said they were "slightly" or "not at all prepared" for their positions when they took them — and that's not much of a surprise, really. Regents often don't have backgrounds in education, so learning the nuances of enrollment, faculty issues and fundraising can be tough. Michael Cemo, who has been on the UH System Board of Regents since 2001, said he needed a year to understand the system's operations even with his experience on the boards of corporations and nonprofit firms.

Among the applicants for the TSU board are Tracye McDaniel, CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership; Thelma Clardy, a city councilwoman from DeSoto; David Stephens, who owns car dealerships across the state; and Kevin Daniels, whose brother represented former TSU financial chief Quintin Wiggins in his recent criminal trial. State Rep. Garnet Coleman (D-Houston) said the board needs more members with ties to Houston, but Perry spokesman Ted Royer didn't indicate whether that would factor into Perry's decision. "What's most important is that the board has a quorum, and the governor will look to fill those positions in the near future," Royer said. "But in terms of a timetable, his philosophy on appointees is that it's more important to get it right than to get it fast."