A proposal by Gov. Rick Perry of Texas to dissolve the Board of Regents at Texas Southern University could jeopardize the historically black institution’s accreditation, according to an official with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, a regional accreditor.

Belle Wheelan, who heads the accreditor’s college division, told the Associated Press that Governor Perry’s plan to name a state-appointed leader to oversee the university’s finances would violate the association’s requirement that a college have a multi-person board. Mr. Perry, a Republican, also has said all people on the 10-member board should resign.

The university, in Houston, faces a financial crisis and cannot make debt payments for its transportation system, construction projects, and athletics programs.

The governor’s plan also has raised objections from the Texas Legislative Black Caucus. Its members are considering a plan that would give the university’s president more power to make changes without needing approval from the regents. —Karin Fischer