 Austin and his wife, Carol, also made strides in beautifying the campus, chiefly by securing an adequate water supply from Lake Tawakoni and planting numerous flowers, shrubs, and trees around the grounds.The most serious problems faced during the Austin administration stemmed from the economic crisis in Texas in the mid-1980s.As oil prices plunged, drastic cuts of $676 million to state colleges and universities were proposed in 1985, including a cut of $6.3 million for ETSU that would have accounted for more than 25% of its budget.