University of Houston President honoured for achievements

Indian American academic Renu Khator, the Chancellor and President of University of Houston, has won the Light of India Award that honours excellence and exemplary achievement of Indians living abroad.

Khator, 56, was one of six global leaders nominated in the categories of excellence in education and academics.

Eminent global leaders in their fields selected winners of the Jury awards, while the Popular Choice awards were determined by online vote totals.

She was the only honorary to receive awards in both categories for which she was nominated the Jury Award and the Popular Choice Award among the 19 recipients honored.

"As I took the blue carpet walk to get to the stage, I was fully aware that I was receiving this recognition for the University of Houston, for it is the university's success that defines my success," she said.

The awards, given to Indians living abroad, were sponsored by Remit2India, the flagship brand of TimesofMoney a part of the Times Group, the largest media company in India, aim to create a platform to recognise excellence of Indians abroad across different fields.

The awards also aim to give the more than 25 million non-resident Indians the power to choose their 'Light of India'.

Renu Khator who comes from a small UP town of Farrukhabad, earned a bachelor's degree at the University of Kanpur.

She received a master's degree and a doctoral in political science from Purdue University.

A noted scholar in the field of global environmental policy, she has published numerous books and 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.

Khator is the University of Houston System's first woman chancellor and the first Indian immigrant to head a comprehensive research university in the United States.

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