Long before Albert Myres served as chair of the Texas Southern University Board of Regents, he was a big TSU supporter. That chair position afforded him a bird’s-eye view of the inner workings of the university, as his job demanded he be “knee deep” involved in how the TSU “sausage” was made. That familiarity with the daily minutia didn’t repulse Myres. Just the opposite; it made Myres fall more deeply in love with the Third Ward-located HBCU, and see it “not as a diamond in the rough, but rather, as a diamond, period,” as he put it.
Upon learning of the news that Myres, whose blood runs maroon and gray, stepped down from his board position with over a year left on his term, the Defender sought to hear directly from Myres regarding his resignation and to gain his insights on where TSU is headed moving forward.
DEFENDER: Why did you step down as a member of the board?
ALBERT MYRES: One of the things I have always said to myself and to my former colleagues on the board when you’re given the opportunity and the window of time, you do what you can within that window of time, and the best you can for the students at a university. Unfortunately for me, that came a little earlier than I had anticipated. I have a couple of personal issues that health-wise, I had to deal with, and I thought that would be a little bit too much on me and for the board. And to not hinder progress, I thought it was best for me to just step aside because I think at the end of the day, it’s all about the university and the students and not about me.
DEFENDER: What was your crowning accomplishment during your tenure?
MYRES: I don’t know if I have any particular crowning moment. There are so many good things happening at Texas Southern University. Sure, there are some challenging things also, but there are a lot of good things happening. A few sessions ago, we did fairly well by bringing in a decent amount of money from the legislative session, around $95 million. But at the time, I was a little disappointed because I didn’t think it was enough money. But I was told that it was one of the largest amounts ever to come into the university… Once you wrap yourself in that university, you can understand… why so many folks are so proud of the university and have the passion that they have for the university. We did some good things, some things that obviously, I would’ve loved to have been on the board to see come to fruition. But, it’s a very good board that’s in place there.
DEFENDER: What are TSU’s biggest opportunities moving forward?
MYRES: If we were in an investment group and we were looking at different schools (schools and not companies), I would suggest that Texas Southern University had probably the best upside of the universities in the area. I think the university is poised not only to be great like it is but to be greater than where it is today. I think there are areas that have so much upside potential that if the school is able to achieve a few of them, I think the university will be able to set itself apart from not only other HBCUs but other universities in the region and the state. It’s a university that was built off a very historical foundation. And I think that that history is still at play today. And I think with that, it makes it a very special university. So, when I think of possibilities and opportunity, I just think the upside just hasn’t been touched or is nowhere in sight. I think it just has a lot of upside potential.
DEFENDER: What are some of the challenges on TSU’s horizon?
MYRES: I think student success is the number one key ingredient for the university going forward. I think we have great students, and I think prioritizing the success of the students, as priority number one, as a board and across the system, I think is a very strategic and very important first step direction going into the future. I think if the students are achieving the success that they need to achieve in our system, and that’s everything, not only academically, but from the housing perspective and student life across the campus, I think when you achieve student success across the board, the university can’t help but be successful.
DEFENDER: How would you grade student success currently?
MYRES: I think there’s room for growth, no doubt about it. I think the board recognized that. I think the faculty recognizes that. As we move forward, not trying to put a finger on any particular thing, but I think it’s very important that across the board achieving student success and how that’s measured with any other university are measurements that maybe we didn’t have anything to do with in terms of what those measurements are. But the measurements for student success, I think when we can move those dots in a positive way, I think it’ll be noticed, not only within the university, but outside the university.
DEFENDER: It’s been well documented that public HBCUs nationwide are underfunded, especially when compared to predominantly white institutions. Where does TSU currently sit regarding state funding?
MYRES: I think everything will suggest that over the years, the university has not received the funds it deserves to achieve the outcomes that everyone would like for it to see. That’s not me giving you an opinion. That’s giving you what is there out on documentation to suggest that in any study that’s been done, whether it’s been in the state or out of the state, regardless of the institution or think tank or whatever, it would suggest that the funding of the university has been inadequate to achieve the goals and objectives that have been set up for the university.
DN: Look for Albert Myres article part 2
