Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have ordered the Texas Rangers to investigate Texas Southern University (TSU) following a scathing state audit that uncovered widespread financial mismanagement and years of delayed reporting.
According to The Associated Press, Patrick said Monday he would meet with Abbott and House Speaker Dustin Burrows to discuss freezing TSU’s state funding — a move that could have major consequences for the Houston-based university, one of the nation’s largest historically Black colleges.
In a letter to legislative leaders, State Auditor Lisa Collier outlined a series of alarming findings, including millions of dollars in unapproved and improperly tracked expenses. The audit revealed that more than 700 invoices totaling over $280 million were tied to vendors whose contracts had already expired. Another 800 invoices worth nearly $160 million were dated before any purchase requests were officially submitted or approved.
Collier said the university’s financial reports were also severely delayed — submitted 10 months late for the 2023 fiscal year and four months late for 2024. She blamed the failures in part on unfilled staff positions for “critical” financial roles, leading to weak internal controls and poor asset oversight.
“The legislature has continued year after year to try to help the school,” Patrick said in a statement on X. “It appears the legislature has been misled over this time period on promised improvements in accounting practices and contracting.”
Abbott echoed Patrick’s concerns, saying in his own statement that he had directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to assist with the Rangers’ investigation. “Waste, fraud, and abuse will not be tolerated,” Abbott said, calling the findings “potential misappropriation of hundreds of millions of dollars.”
In response, Texas Southern University said it is fully cooperating with the state auditor and had already implemented “corrective measures” — including a new purchasing system — before the audit’s release. The university declined to comment on staffing vacancies or the potential funding freeze.
TSU, which enrolls about 8,000 students, has faced financial controversy before. In 2020, former president Austin Lane was ousted after an internal probe revealed bribery and kickback schemes in the law school’s admissions process.
Students with low academic credentials were admitted and awarded more than $430,000 in scholarships, and investigators found cashier’s checks and money orders hidden under an admissions official’s desk calendar.
The latest audit findings — and the new state investigation — threaten to once again shake the leadership and reputation of one of Texas’s most prominent historically Black universities.
