Firings, hirings at Texas Southern University signal president's resolve

Photo: Texas Southern University President, Dr. John Rudley.

First week's housecleaning demonstrates his desire for stability

Texas Southern University's new president marked his first week on the job by making sweeping changes to the top ranks of the troubled institution's administration.

"This should signal that we will make the changes required," John Rudley said Friday.

Rudley replaced the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, Bobby Wilson, and fired athletic director Alois Blackwell.

Rudley also inherited an athletic department with budget shortfalls, poor performance on the field and in the classroom and an NCAA investigation into the tennis teams. The problems led to Blackwell's dismissal, Rudley said.

Only 16 percent of students earn bachelor's degrees within six years of arriving at TSU, compared with the state rate of 55 percent.

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