Former HCC Trustee Bruce Austin dies
Bruce Austin, a longtime Houston Community College trustee and retired Harris County official, died Aug. 13 at age 71. Services will be held Friday, Aug. 30 at 10 a.m. at Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church, 4000 Sumpter.
Austin was first elected to the HCC Board of Trustees in 1989. He served as chair from 1990 to 1992 and again from 2000 to 2002. He was director at-large and a regional director of the Association of Community College Trustees. His board service ended in 2013.
He had a long association with Harris County, serving as special assistant with Precinct One under the leadership of the late Commissioner El Franco Lee and director of Housing and Community Development.
Austin was an adjunct professor at Texas Southern University and the University of Houston-Clear Lake. He received a B.A. in Political Science, MPA in Public Administration and Juris Doctorate from TSU. Other post-education studies included the Cambridge Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
He was past president of the Houston Chapter of the American Society of Public Administration and a member of Pi Alpha Alpha National Honor Society and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
He was a U.S. Navy veteran, a nominee for Sailor of the Year and the recipient of a Presidential Management Internship with the Justice Department in Washington, D.C.
Acclaimed Houston artist Floyd Newsum dies
Houston’s creative community is mourning the loss of Floyd Newsum, a noted artist, art professor and co-founder of Project Row Houses. He died Aug. 14 at the age of 74.
Newsum’s career spanned more than 50 years and included more than 100 solo and group exhibitions worldwide. His works can be found in permanent collections at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Studio Museum in Harlem, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and other museums.
He was a founder of Project Row Houses (PRH) in Third Ward. The historic site encompasses five city blocks and houses 39 structures that serve as a home base to a variety of community-enriching initiatives, art programs and neighborhood development activities.
Newsum enjoyed mentoring younger artists. He was a professor of art at the University of Houston-Downtown and received the UHD Scholarship/Creativity Award in 2003. He joined PRH in leading a group of Third Ward high school students on an art-filled trip to Washington, D.C., and PRH named its Summer Studios program for him.
Newsum was a native of Memphis. He received a BFA from Memphis College of Art and MFA from Temple University. Survivors include his wife Janice and two children.