Former Texas Southern University president Priscilla Slade will not be permitted to teach accounting courses this term due to the pending criminal charges against her arising from alleged misuse of University funds for her personal expenses.  Slade was fired as president earlier in 2006 because of the alleged financial improprieties, but she retained her tenured position as a professor of accounting and was scheduled to teach courses this term.  Seeking to avoid the problem of having her put her practical finance knowledge to use in the classroom, the University’s acting president placed her on paid leave while the faculty reviews whether to strip her of tenure and remove her from the faculty.  For those familiar with academia, that is a momentous step, and one rarely taken. 

An article in the Houston Chronicle (here) notes that Slade is the highest paid professor on the faculty, in large part because her contract as president permits her to return to the faculty at 75% of her administrative pay.  That’s almost enough to make one want to become an administrator . . . almost.  For an interesting take on this case and a lawsuit in Austin involving a UT law professor, check out Tom Kirkendall’s post on the Houston’s Clear Thinkers blog (here). (ph)