2nd TSU board member resigns, joins different board
Another Texas Southern University board of regents member has resigned.
Hasan Mack, who served as chairman for TSU’s board of regents, stepped down and has been appointed to serve on another state board, university spokesman Steve Scheffler confirmed. Gov. Greg Abbott’s office announced Monday that Mack was appointed to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission for a term through Nov. 15, 2025.
“The commission oversees the agency that inspects, supervises and regulates every phase of businesses related to alcoholic beverages, including manufacturing, selling, distributing and more,” the governor’s release said.
The announcement that Mack was serving on a new board came the same day he and TSU board vice chair Albert Myres released a letter on the TSU website saying the board of regents were still conducting an external investigation and review into the university’s admissions, enrollment and scholarship practices. The regents also laid out a timeline for its search for a new president and announced initiatives to improve the university.
Mack, an Austin attorney, has not responded to Houston Chronicle requests for comment.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s office did not return requests for comment on Monday or Tuesday.
Mack was appointed to TSU’s board on April 23, 2018, and was set to serve through Feb. 1, 2023.
His resignation as chair comes after months of controversy and fallout at the historically black university that resulted in former president Austin Lane’s departure, and just a week after former board member Derrick Mitchell
stepped down after saying he had a “different philosophical view” from his former colleagues on the TSU board.
“This has been a huge distraction,”
Mitchell said at the time. “It’s one of those things where I’d rather be on a board where there’s more logic and just a sense of decency, and unfortunately that’s not the right board.”
The board announced an investigation into “improprieties” in November, voted to place Lane
on leave in January without public explanation, and voted for his termination in February saying Lane had failed to notify them about “fraudulent and dishonest activities” in the law school’s admissions process.
Ultimately, the board found no wrongdoing on Lane’s part, according
to a settlement reached weeks later. Under that agreement, Lane stepped down and the board paid him a lump sum of $560,000, plus unpaid benefits, bringing the total buyout to $879,000, Lane said.
Many TSU alumni have called for Mack’s resignation for weeks.
In a recent letter, an alumni group called “#RemovetheRegents” wrote that the current regents have “embarrassed (their) university enough” and have caused “irreparable” damage to Texas Southern.