Renu Khator, Ph.D., has served as chancellor of the University of Houston System and president of its flagship University of Houston campus since January 2008. She broke boundaries and glass ceilings with these appointments, as she became the first female chancellor in the state of Texas and the first Indian immigrant to lead a comprehensive research university in the U.S.

During her first decade of leadership, Renu Khator guided the remarkable transformation of the University of Houston (UH) into a top-tier institution that has become nationally recognized for its unique blend of academic accomplishment, research innovation, athletic achievement and dedication to the success of a significantly diverse, determined student body.

Since arriving at UH, Khator has concentrated on making sure the University reinforces the economic and cultural strengths of the city of Houston. To that end, UH has focused on energy, the arts and health care while maintaining an overall pursuit of excellence in the higher education arena. In 2011, in approximately half the predicted time, UH earned Tier One status for highest research activity from the Carnegie Foundation.

That unprecedented success has been followed by a string of similar achievements, including the opening of Houston’s first medical school in more than 50 years, more than tripling the number of National Academy members on the faculty, dramatically improving the graduation rates and the launch of a bold strategic plan to become a Top 50 public university. In 2023, she successfully co-spearheaded the drive for Texas Legislature to create a permanent endowment, which provides $3.9 billion in funding for UH and certain institutions to achieve national prominence as major research universities.

UH Athletics has experienced historic milestones under Khator’s leadership, earning conference championships, bowl game invitations and NCAA Final Four appearances. UH joined the Big 12 Conference in July 2023 — a hard-fought mission of Khator’s to join a Power Five conference.
She has been named to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has served on numerous boards, including Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, NCAA, American Council on Education, Association of American Colleges and Universities, and the Greater Houston Partnership. Additionally, she has been an advisor and on committees and councils for several Indian prime ministers. She has been named Houstonian of the year, inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame, received a Houston Business Journal Lifetime Achievement Award and, in 2014, Indian President Pranab Mukherjee presented her with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, the highest distinction bestowed upon a non-resident Indian.

Born in Uttar Pradesh, India, Khator came to the United States to study at age 18 and earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in political science from Purdue University. Prior to her appointment at UH, she was provost and senior vice president at the University of South Florida.