Texas Southern University regents on Friday named John Rudley as the sole finalist to succeed Priscilla Slade as president of the troubled historically Black school.

Rudley, who is currently serving as interim president at the University of Houston, is now poised to become TSU's first permanent president since the university fired Slade amid a spending scandal in June 2006.

TSU regents chose Rudley by a 9-0 vote, the Houston Chronicle reported on its Web site Friday. State law requires the regents to wait 21 days before finalizing the appointment.

Slade was accused of misspending university money to decorate her homes. She was indicted but avoided conviction when the jury in her trial deadlocked, resulting in a mistrial.

The allegations against Slade coincided with reports that revealed a pattern of financial mismanagement at TSU, the state's largest historically Black university. Gov. Rick Perry called for a state takeover of the university that was later put on hold, and the entire board of regents was replaced.

Rudley was TSU's chief financial officer and internal auditor in the 1980s, and his wife is currently a law professor at the university.

--Associated Press

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