TSU’s Huewitt ready to serve in new role
Kenneth Huewitt has worked at Texas Southern University for the past three years, overseeing the Houston college’s financial functions as its chief financial officer and vice president of finance and administration.
But this year, he stepped into another role during a time of rapid change for the historically black university.
Appointed interim president after the controversial exit of former president Austin Lane, Huewitt will help lead Texas Southern through an accreditation process, a global pandemic, a search for a new permanent president and a restructuring. It’s a challenge he’s willing to take on, he says.
“I didn’t plan for any of this,” Huewitt said. “But I’m a prayerful person. I’m here for the right reason. I don’t ever question where I am. This is a time like no other, obviously not just higher education, but in our society and the world. I’m finding a lot about myself, how I navigate through this, and I’m welcoming this opportunity to grow.”
In January, the Texas Southern University board of regents named Huewitt acting president after placing Lane on paid leave. Lane’s departure came in February, leaving Huewitt at the helm, and shortly thereafter came the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced many Texas colleges, including TSU, to close campuses and resume education online.
In April, the board named
Huewitt TSU’s interim president via a telephone conference — an appointment that gives Huewitt full presidential powers until a new president is appointed, which likely is next year, university officials have said.
“We are fortunate as a university to have someone with the skills and background of Mr. Huewitt during these critical times that TSU faces,” board chair Albert Myres Sr. wrote in a statement. “The board looks forward to working with Mr. Huewitt, his administrative team, as well as the faculty, staff, students and alumni, to keep TSU moving forward and doing great things.”
A vision for TSU
Although things are constantly in flux, Huewitt said he has a vision for the university, one that includes collaboration, communication and compliance.
The college’s five priorities — student success and completion, academic program quality and research, culture, partnerships, and finance — will remain, he said, as he works closely with TSU’s board of regents, a governing group that has experienced some shifts itself. Since Lane’s departure, three members have resigned from TSU’s board and one has been censured.
Huewitt said the school has established an Office of Compliance — a strategy that will put “eyes and ears” on practices within various departments and colleges to ensure they are being compliant — an issue that arose earlier this year when an ongoing investigation showed that students were fraudulently admitted to TSU’s law school.
And Huewitt said the goal of a new president’s council is to better communicate with the university community so they don’t have to wait until board meetings to express themselves and to build relationships with the business and philanthropic communities. Huewitt said he’ll also focus on TSU’s fundraising efforts.
“We can’t do this alone just on the campus of TSU, and we’re seeing that support of COVID-19,” Huewitt said. “People want to give to help our students with emergency needs. There’s a willingness there.”
‘Being better together’
Like most colleges in the state, TSU is also thinking about the effects of the coronavirus on finances, research and how the university operates as a whole, Huewitt said
“One of the things we always talk about … at TSU is ‘being better together,’ and we’re having to do it now, albeit remotely,” Huewitt said.
Moving forward, Huewitt said TSU will follow the guidelines of the government, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and other local officials, and he will continue brainstorming with and building his own network of college presidents from around the country, which will help assesses a successful return in the fall.
“There’s a lot of different ways to do it … but the virus is going to dictate how we can come back, and we always want to make sure that safety’s first,” said Huewitt, who has floated the option of hosting a hybrid of online learning and face-to-face classes. “We miss each other. We’re social people, but we want to come back and be responsible to one another and not cause a panic.”
Whether Huewitt is interested in a permanent role as president is uncertain. He said he’s taking it one step at a time.
“With everything that’s going on and being thrown at me right now — and I’m welcoming it — I don’t have that answer,” Huewitt said. “Too soon.”
Before his tenure at TSU Huewitt worked within the Houston Independent School District for more than a decade. He served as deputy superintendent and interim superintendent in his last three years at HISD.
Huewitt began his career as an auditor for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General, and has since served as an audit specialist and a regional director of finance for a Fortune 1000 company.