04:52 PM CDT on Wednesday, June 7, 2006

By Reggie Aqui / 11 News

TSU's board has decided June 17 will be ousted President Priscilla Slade's last day.

Slade had a chance to defend herself at a hearing Wednesday, but neither she nor her attorney showed up.

KHOU-TV

Priscilla Slade

Eight hours had been set aside for the meeting that Slade’s attorneys requested.

A grand jury is looking into criminal charges against Slade.

Texas Southern University’s Board of Regents voted to fire her in April, but only two weeks ago, police showed up at her home with search warrants in hand.

They brought out computers and files as they looked for evidence of her alleged spending sprees.

Slade is accused of charging hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of furniture and landscaping to the university.

She has maintained it was within her rights as a president to do so, but the board said she violated her contract.

By not showing up Wednesday Slade could both help and hurt herself legally.

Slade’s attorney, Ronald G. Franklin, had this response to the board’s action Wednesday:

“Dr. Slade was terminated after very flawed proceedings at the last Board of Regents’ meeting on April 17, 2006.  There is no need for her to appear today and participate in a charade.  Instead, she is anxious to proceed with her lawsuit and will next appear before the Regents in a court of law. There, an impartial jury will hear all the facts for the first time- which is a constitutional and contractual due process right the Board of Regents has denied her, no matter the attempt to justify their conduct today.” 

TSU Student Body President, Justin Jordan said despite the good Slade may have done for TSU, it's now time to move on.

"If a person did bring alot of money in does that excuse criminal behavior or what some deem criminal behavior. Ken Lay, they say he did alot for the Houston community but the jury still found him guilty. If it's wrong, it's wrong."