As Texas Southern University (TSU) approaches its 100th anniversary in 2027, the institution is reflecting on a century of impact while laying the groundwork for its future.
The university’s Board of Regents has unanimously approved Ascend 2030, a comprehensive strategic plan designed to guide TSU into its second century of service and influence.
Roadmap for the next century
As it prepares to mark a century of impact, the university is setting its sights firmly on the future.
To meet the challenge of renewing, enhancing, and expanding TSU’s impact, Ascend 2030 seeks to align academic excellence, operational efficiency, and institutional growth around a central goal: preparing graduates to lead and influence the future of Texas and the nation.
“As we approach 100 years of service, this plan represents the University’s mandate. Ascend 2030 is disciplined, data-informed, and designed for execution. It honors our legacy while positioning TSU to compete, innovate, and lead in a rapidly changing world.”
– TSU President J. W. Crawford III
“As we approach 100 years of service, this plan represents the University’s mandate,” said TSU President J. W. Crawford III. “Ascend 2030 is disciplined, data-informed, and designed for execution. It honors our legacy while positioning TSU to compete, innovate, and lead in a rapidly changing world — and to strengthen our role as a catalyst for economic growth in Houston and across Texas.”
Centering student success
At its core, Ascend 2030 places student achievement at the center of the university’s mission — expanding educational opportunity, increasing degree completion, strengthening career readiness, and growing doctoral education and applied research tied to high-demand industries shaping Texas’ future.
At the same time, the university plans to modernize financial, human resources, and information technology systems while diversifying revenue streams and expanding partnerships that create greater opportunity for students and communities across the state.
Legacy rooted in access and excellence
With TSU turning 100 next year, it is important to note the impact the school has had over the years. One of the reasons for the current Ascend 2030 plan is to both acknowledge TSU’s past contributions to Houston, the state, nation, and world, and to position the university to have similar impacts in the present and future.
Founded during the era of segregation to provide Black students access to higher education when other Texas institutions barred them, TSU has long been more than a university. It has been a cornerstone of opportunity and a key driver in building Houston’s Black middle class.
Over the decades, TSU has produced generations of pharmacists, attorneys, educators, artists, elected officials, and community leaders who have shaped Houston, Texas, and the nation.
Among the university’s most impactful institutions is the Thurgood Marshall School of Law (TMSL), which has produced countless attorneys, judges, and legal advocates serving communities across the country.
TSU is also home to the internationally respected Texas Southern University Debate Team, one of the most decorated programs in collegiate debate history. Its alumni include trailblazers such as former U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, whose leadership and eloquence left an indelible mark on American politics.
The university’s influence also stretches deeply into arts and culture. Legendary muralist John Biggers helped shape generations of Black artists while teaching at TSU, and Grammy-winning gospel singer Yolanda Adams stands among its celebrated alumni.
At every level of government — city, county, state, and federal — TSU graduates have served as policymakers and public servants, reinforcing the university’s role as a training ground for leadership and community change.
Strategic priorities
The strategic plan is organized around four core ideas intended to guide the university’s next phase of development.
The first, “Enabled by Technology. Powered by People,” focuses on embedding advanced technologies — including artificial intelligence — into academic and operational systems to strengthen institutional performance.
Second, “Student Outcomes Define Student Success” emphasizes aligning degrees, credentials, and hands-on learning opportunities with measurable completion rates and career outcomes.
Third, the plan envisions TSU becoming “The Nation’s Most Advanced Urban Living and Learning Environment,” leveraging its location in Houston to deepen connections with industry, research partners, and experiential learning opportunities.
Finally, “The Collaboration Corridor” proposes building a purpose-driven ecosystem linking academic programs, research, philanthropy, and industry partnerships to accelerate innovation and long-term institutional growth.
Challenges
The plan comes at a time when TSU is facing serious challenges. Neighboring and rival HBCU Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) has, for decades, lagged behind TSU in student enrollment. That is no longer the case.
Recent data shows PVAMU hitting record enrollments, reaching 10,085 in Fall 2025, building on steady growth from 9,400 students in 2023. TSU experienced a slight decline to approximately 8,137 in Fall 2024, following a smaller drop from its 8,469 in Fall 2023.
Additionally, the recent move by the state of Texas to cut ties with the American Bar Association (ABA) has many rightly worried about the impact the move will have on TSU’s TMSL.
Daria Rose, a practicing attorney and Yale Law School graduate, recently sounded the alarm for her 62,400 Instagram followers about this seismic shift in legal education.
“By getting rid of the ABA, the education is no longer standardized,” Rose said. “If you go to an ABA-accredited law school, you can generally sit for the bar exam in any state.”
She further explained that without ABA accreditation, law degrees and those who earn them become geographically trapped and politically vulnerable.
“It’s public law schools and those students who are going to suffer. Without ABA accreditation, you’re essentially trapped in your state,” she said. “[And] politicians get a larger say over the curriculum, the faculty, the funding, and most importantly, the ideology,” shared Rose, a troubling assessment for law schools in states dominated by GOP lawmakers.
The implications are enormous. The TMSL produces 43% of practicing African-American lawyers in Texas and 17% nationwide.
Without ABA accreditation, that pipeline of Black legal talent could shrink dramatically. Austen L. Parrish, dean of UC Irvine School of Law, warned that schools without national reach become “less attractive to students.”
And TSU faces another challenge: an uphill climb to regain financial autonomy as it approaches its centennial celebration amid a crippling state funding freeze.
Following a financial audit that exposed systemic mismanagement, TSU must now navigate intense state oversight to demonstrate that it can be trusted with its own finances.
Board confidence
Still, TSU Board of Regents Chairman James Benham expressed strong support for the plan.
“The Board of Regents is fully aligned behind Ascend 2030 because it does what a strategic plan should do — it sets clear priorities, ties them to measurable outcomes, and gives the University a real framework for accountability,” stated Benham. “President Crawford and his team built this plan around what TSU actually needs to compete at the highest level over the next decade: modernized systems, stronger student outcomes, and deeper ties to Houston’s economy and employer base.
“We’re not just planning for the centennial — we’re laying the foundation for the next hundred years.”
For nearly a century, TSU has stood as a gateway to opportunity for generations of Black Texans and beyond. As the university approaches its centennial, Ascend 2030 represents an effort to ensure that the legacy of access, leadership, and community transformation continues well into its next hundred years.
