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About President Khator
Renu Khator holds the dual titles of Chancellor of the University of Houston System and President of the University of Houston. The UH System’s first woman Chancellor and the first Indian immigrant to head a comprehensive research university in the United States, she assumed her post in January 2008.
As Chancellor of the UH System, Khator oversees an organization that serves more than 61,000 students, has a budget that exceeds $1.2 billion, and has a $3 billion economic impact on the Greater Houston area each year. The UH System includes the University of Houston, UH-Downtown, UH-Clear Lake and UH-Victoria, teaching centers in Sugar Land, Cinco Ranch, and Pearland, and KUHT, the nation’s first educational television station, and KUHF, Houston's National Public Radio station.
As President of the University of Houston, she is the chief executive officer of the largest and oldest of the four UH System universities. UH enrolls 37,000 students, offers more than 300 undergraduate and graduate programs and awards 7,000 degrees each year.
During her tenure, UH has experienced record-breaking research funding and private support. Last year, UH brought in $110 million in research grants and began construction of its Energy Research Park, the Cougar football team ranked nationally in the top 25, and Tier One pathways for the University of Houston were created by the Texas Legislature and approved by voters.
Khator was born in Uttar Pradesh, India, earning a bachelor’s degree at the University of Kanpur. She received her master’s degree and her Ph.D. in political science from Purdue University. A noted scholar in the field of global environmental policy, she has published five books and several articles on the subject. Prior to her appointment, she was provost and senior vice president at the University of South Florida, capping a 22-year career at that institution.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services included her among its 2006 Outstanding Americans by Choice awardees, recognizing her achievements as a naturalized citizen. Also in 2006, she received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Purdue University’s College of Liberal Arts.
In 2007, she and her husband Suresh Khator, associate dean in the UH Cullen College of Engineering, were honored with the prestigious Hind Rattan (Jewel of India) award, given to nonresident Indians for making outstanding contributions in their field. And in 2009, Purdue University bestowed upon her its Doctor of Social Sciences degree, honoris causa.
Khator recently joined some of the world’s most respected leaders when she was named to the Indian Prime Minister’s Global Advisory Council. She serves on many boards, including the Greater Houston Partnership, the Houston Technology Center, the Texas Medical Center Policy Council, the Methodist Hospital Research Institute Board, and the Business Higher Education Forum.
The Khators have two daughters, both of whom are ophthalmologists.
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