Houston: An Indian-American university chancellor has been elected to the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences for her contributions in the fields of education and academic leadership.
Renu Khator, 61, joins more than 250 exceptionally accomplished artists, scholars, scientists and leaders in the public, nonprofit and private sectors as members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) class of 2020 announced this week.
Born in Uttar Pradesh, Khator is the University of Houston System chancellor and the varsity’s president. She is the first woman chancellor and the first Indian immigrant to head a comprehensive research university in the United States.
Khotar, who has been at the current position since 2008, was elected in the field of Educational and Academic Leadership.
“While recognition from this esteemed organisation is personally very gratifying, I am even more pleased with the honour it brings to the University of Houston and UH System, which has given me such a valuable opportunity to develop my leadership skills,” Khator said.
“Being included with such an array of eminent individuals is humbling, and I am proud to join my fellow UH Cougars in the Academy,” she said.
Khator earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Kanpur, her master’s and Ph.D degrees in political science and public administration from Purdue University in the US.
The AAAS represents innovative thinkers in every field, including more than 250 Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners. Khator joins three other faculty members from Houston University in the prestigious ranks of AAAS membership.
Khator oversees a four-university organisation at Houston University that serves nearly 71,000 students.
She also lends her expertise to matters of national and international importance in areas of higher education, business and policy though appointments and membership to various boards and advisory groups, such as the Board of Governors of the NCAA, the Indian Prime Minister’s Empowered Expert Committee and the Advisory Board of the Texas Medical Center.
The American Academy of Arts & Sciences was founded in 1780, during the American Revolution, by John Adams, John Hancock, and 60 other scholar-patriots to honour exceptionally accomplished individuals and engage them in advancing the public good. (AGENCIES)
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