TMC PULSE

t m c » p u l s e | o c t o b e r 2 0 1 6 9 TMC SPOTLIGHT RENU KHATOR, PH.D., is president of the University of Houston and chancellor of the UH System. She speaks with Pulse about her childhood in India, learning English from I Love Lucy, and her quest to turn UH into an academic and athletic powerhouse. A | Eventually things worked out and my dad did send me to the University of Allahabad, where I always wanted to go because I was interested in politi- cal science. This is where political leaders had gone. It was a hub of political activity. At that point I thought I had won the war, but I had only won the battle. Nine months later, my father arranged my marriage to a young man who was studying for a Ph.D. at Purdue University. Q | And you are still married to this man, Dr. Suresh Khator, now associate dean of the UH Cullen College of Engineering? A | Yes. I met him the same day we were engaged. Ten days later—the time it took to get a passport ready—I traveled with him to Indiana. I was now barely 19 years old. I'm here in the U.S. and I don't know any English. Because I was so distraught, I cried a lot. My husband asked me, 'Why are you so sad?' I told him I wanted an education. He said, 'Well, you've come to the land of opportunity. You can study in the U.S. all you want and I will support you.' Q | Can you tell us about your formative years in India? A | I grew up in a very small town, Farrukhabad, in a family that tradition- ally has been very conservative. Q | Did you like to study as a child? A | Growing up, I just loved study- ing and my father always put a lot of emphasis on education. My mother had a huge role; she took great interest in my schoolwork. So I did well in my high school. Q | Did you attend university in India? A | I went to Kanpur University because a campus opened in my home- town that was for girls only. My family didn't want to send me to a coeduca- tional place. I finished my bachelor's degree; I had limited offerings because it was a brand new location, so I studied liberal arts. I won a national scholarship to study further, but the problem was that wherever I would go would be a coeducational place and it would be away from home. Q | Did your family finally relent and let you continue your education elsewhere? Q | Is that when you enrolled in a graduate program at Purdue? A | Yes. He took me to school and translated while I spoke Hindi to the graduate advisor. After a lot of talking, the advisor said, 'I'll let you sit in on two classes. No promises. No admission. We'll see where we go.' Once I got my foot in the door, I taught myself English. I watched eight hours of television a day; I know every episode of I Love Lucy. I got two 'A's that semester. I finished my master's degree after one more year. Q | And then you continued on with the Ph.D.? A | We returned to India after my hus- band finished his Ph.D. and I finished my master's degree. He was on a gov- ernment scholarship and was obligated to return to India for five years. We had two daughters there. After five years I said, 'I want to go to a Ph.D. program.' I got admitted back at Purdue, so I started my Ph.D. as a young and new mom. When I finished that, we got an opportunity to go to the University of South Florida. My husband accepted a faculty position there. Caption Caption 42,000+ students 2,300+ faculty 54 doctoral degrees 120 undergraduate majors and minors 139 master's degrees 1st in the nation to offer a master of science in Subsea Engineering 25 research centers Source: University of Houston Q | What was your role at USF? A | They gave me a nine-month appointment as a trailing spouse. But again, once I got my foot in the door, I made my way up. Every two years I had a promotion, either academic or administrative, leading up to provost and vice-president. And then I came to Houston in 2008. Q | Tell us about your unique role as president of the University of Houston and chancellor of the UH System. You have a reputation here as an astound- ing turnaround person. You've done so much to transform the university. How did you make it happen in such a short period of time? A | What I saw in Houston was a tre- mendous city, not just large in size but large in capacity. I saw a great economy and a public university with top-notch faculty. So to me it was a big puzzle as to why it was not a Tier One university. [The Tier One designation goes to universities known for academic excel- lence, world-class research, innovation, scholarship and creativity.] For 100 days I had what I called my 'days of solici- tation.' We asked everybody—through radio, letters, newspapers—to give me my charge. I told everyone that I was new here and asked them what I should do. I thought there would be 200 to 300 responses, but there were 3,600 comments that came in. That told me people cared. continued

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