University of Houston’s Renu Khator Named to Department of Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council

University of Houston System chancellor and University of Houston president Renu Khator has been named among eight new members of the United States Department of Homeland Security's Academic Advisory Council.

[Photo Source: Purdue.edu ]

By: India West Staff

University of Houston System chancellor and University of Houston president Renu Khator has been named among eight new members of the United States Department of Homeland Security’s Academic Advisory Council.

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson announced the appointment Oct. 19.

Khator, who will serve a four-year term, was selected by DHS based on her expertise in higher education leadership and UH’s leadership in homeland security research.

“Serving on this council is both an honor and a serious responsibility,” the Indian American educator in a statement. “There can be no more important task than maintaining the safety of our country. Through research, innovation and workforce development, higher education must continue to play a vital role in helping DHS meet that crucial objective.”

Khator joined the UH System in 2008 and oversees a four-university organization that serves nearly 70,000 students, has an annual budget that exceeds $1.7 billion and generates nearly $6 billion economic impact on the Greater Houston area each year.

In 2011, the system’s flagship university, the University of Houston, earned Tier One status from the Carnegie Foundation and in 2016 was awarded a Phi Beta Kappa chapter.

Khator’s university is the lead institution for the DHS Center of Excellence for Borders, Trade and Immigration Research, awarded in late 2015, and one of only three universities in Texas with dual designation by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security for its educational and research programs in cybersecurity and cyber defense.

Additionally, DHS has provided the University of Houston funding to conduct research on making biochemical threat detection economically sustainable. The department has also awarded a grant to the university to develop technology to help protect emergency response systems against Distributed Denial of Service cyberattacks.

“What president Khator brings is not only a deep understanding of the issues facing our campuses but also a firm grasp of the mission of DHS through her work at the University of Houston,” said Office of Academic Engagement executive director Trent Frazier. “DHS and OAE are excited to further collaborate with her.”

A native of Uttar Pradesh, Khator earned her bachelor’s at the University of Kanpur and her master’s and doctorate degrees in political science and public administration from Purdue University. She serves as chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Board of Directors and is the immediate past president of the American Council on Education.

In addition, she is a member of the NCAA Division I Presidential Forum. She is the first female chancellor of a Texas higher education system and the first Indian American to head a comprehensive public research university in the United States.

The advisory council, formed in 2012, is made up of 23 members including college presidents, academic leaders and interagency partners. It provides advice and recommendations to the secretary of Homeland Security on matters related to homeland security and the academic community.

Since its inception, members have issued in excess of 120 recommendations pertaining to academic research and faculty exchange, campus resilience, cybersecurity, international students, DHS academic programs and recruitment of current students and recent graduates, according to a department statement.

Other new HSAAC members announced by Johnson include Pennsylvania State University president Eric Barron, University of Colorado president Bruce Benson, Bay Path University president Carol Leary, University of Utah president David Pershing, Adelphi University president emeritus Robert Scott, Syracuse University chancellor and president Kent Syverud, and Texas A&M University president Michael Young.

This story was originally published on India West.