Can Bush Sr. deliver for Texas Southern? TSU receives high-profile fund-raising support from former President George Bush - Houston - Statistical Data Included

HOUSTON

Amid a tumbling economy and a not-so-distant history of leadership problems and financial trouble, Texas Southern University is launching a $50 million capital campaign spearheaded by former President George Bush.

The campaign is a rare venture for a historically Black university that has straggled for many years just to remain autonomous, much less brag about high points.

A 1999 report showed that TSU's more than 30,000 alumni gave an average of only $2 a year to their alma mater. So it's not surprising when organizers say the $50 million campaign, now in its "quiet phase," may be the first major fund-raising drive of its kind at the 53-year-old university.

"It's TSU's time," says Alan Buckwalter, general chairman of the campaign and chairman of JPMorgan Chase, Southwest region.

In fact, observers say the mere fact TSU officials are undertaking the campaign is perhaps the biggest sign that the university -- known for its fiscal instabilities and revolving door of presidents -- has indeed turned the corner.

"The school has had a fiscal makeover," says Buckwalter, who is active in numerous charitable and civic circles in Houston. "Importantly, the university's perception in the community is improving. This will only increase with the support of key individuals like former President George Bush, who is serving as honorary chairman for the university's capital campaign."

He is not going to attach his name to something unless he is completely sold on it. This school has definitely had a fiscal makeover."

But is the campaign well timed? The country is suffering an economic slide while engaged in a war on terrorism that could be lengthy. Meanwhile, millions of dollars in relief aid have poured in to help victims and families of terrorist attacks. And because record floodwaters devastated so much of Houston this past summer, residents here already have opened up pocketbooks to help recovery efforts.

None of this is lost on Buckwalter and others. At an October meeting among campaign organizers, talk emerged of hiking the $50 million goal before the campaign's public push in 2002 and announcement of lead gifts already secured. But as talks progressed, Buckwalter says, organizers agreed that the best course is to remain conservative. "Many donors we are talking to now may step up in a big way, but they may have to make their gifts over a longer period than originally planned," Buckwalter says.

What is more certain, though, is that the campaign will go on. TSU, like many institutions of higher learning, immediately suspended fund-raising efforts for a while after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks out of respect for the victims and the outpouring of emergency relief aid.

But because of the economic downturn, college enrollments everywhere are growing. TSU is no exception. With a preliminary head count of 8,119 students this semester, the Houston university's enrollment is now higher than it has been since the mid-1980s. TSU officials say it's timely to promote how over the years, the school has produced famous politicians such as Barbara Jordan and Mickey Leland, and other notable graduates. TSU also produces more Black and Hispanic lawyers and pharmacists than any other college in Texas. In addition, TSU is the biggest producer of teachers for Houston public schools, the seventh-largest system nationally and a system where more than 90 percent of students are minorities.

"It's in Houston's business interest to train these students," says TSU president Dr. Priscilla Slade. "It's good business sense, and it's good humanitarian sense."

The plans and execution of TSU's capital campaign, expected to stretch at least three years, are a much-welcomed course for TSU officials. For years, TSU had drawn bad press for its bookkeeping problems. By the time Texas lawmakers convened in 1999 for their biennial session, they were considering once again whether to dissolve TSU's board of regents and let either the University of Texas System or Texas A&M University System absorb TSU. In a last-ditch effort during that legislative session, TSU regents fired President James Douglas and hastily appointed Slade, an accountant who had earned acclaim as TSU's business school dean. She became TSU's fourth president in 11 years. Slade swiftly changed protocol.

She overhauled record-keeping, staved off lawmakers and satisfied state auditors. Then, TSU officials could finally focus on what any school is supposed to do -- educate students and encourage faculty research -- rather than just straggle to stay in business. At her formal inauguration as president in April 2000, Slade enthusiastically announced the $50 million campaign and the elder Bush's backing.

In a recent Black Issues interview, Slade says she met the former president in 1999 after that stressful legislative session. At the time, son George W. Bush was Texas governor and already had appointed several Republicans as TSU regents. Two regents then introduced Slade to the elder Bush, she recalls. "He was instantly interested in TSU," Slade says of the former president. "He knew more than I realized. He knew about our turmoil. But he also knew about the kinds of kids who come to TSU. He even spoke to how much potential TSU had."