Dr. Renu Khator

Telling the story of Dr. Renu Khator’s noted place in American higher education is about diversity and begins with the numbers. Khator, a scholar in the field of global environmental policy, is the eighth chancellor of the University of Houston System and the 13^th president of the University of Houston, dual titles she’s held since January 2008. She is the first foreign-born president of the university and the second woman to hold the position. Khator was born in Uttar Pradesh, India, and came to the United States in 1973 for graduate school. Today she is the first Indian American to lead a major research university in the United States and is the second Indian American to lead an accredited university in the country. Khator earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Kanpur and a master’s and Ph.D. in political science from Purdue University.