The criminal trial of former Texas Southern University President Priscilla Slade on charges of misappropirating TSU property begins today at the county criminal courthouse in downtown Houston (previous posts here). Harris County prosecutors and Mike DeGeurin, Ms. Slade’s defense counsel, spent the last several days picking the jury.
Meanwhile, life goes on as usual over at TSU:

Texas Southern University’s accrediting agency is taking a deeper ó and unscheduled ó look into financial accountability and leadership at the state’s largest historically black university.
In an extraordinary move, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the regional accrediting body for 780 colleges and universities in 11 Southern states, has ordered TSU to provide audits, rehabilitation plans and other documents by Oct. 1. [. . .]
The worst-case scenario for TSU is the loss of its accreditation. Without it, the federal government would stop providing financial aid to students.
Nearly two-thirds of TSU’s 11,000 students receive Pell Grants, which are awarded to low-income students.

There are many sad aspects to this entire affair, but one of the saddest is that Ms. Slade’s trial will almost certainly garner far more of the public’s attention than the continuing failure of local and state officials to take any meaningful steps to begin solving the chronic problems at TSU.