ACE today awarded Renu Khator,
chancellor of the University of Houston (UH) System and president of
the University of Houston, with the 2018 Council of Fellows/Fidelity
Investments Mentor Award* during the opening plenary of ACE2018, ACE's 100th Annual Meeting.
The Council of Fellows/Fidelity Investments Mentor Award is bestowed
annually to acknowledge the substantial role of mentors in the success
of ACE Fellows Program participants.
Since its inception in 1965, the ACE Fellows Program
has strengthened institutions and leadership in American postsecondary
education by identifying and preparing nearly 1,900 faculty and
administrators for senior positions in higher education leadership. More
than 80 percent of Fellows have gone on to serve as chief executive
officers of colleges or universities, provosts, vice presidents, and
deans.
Between 2005 and 2018, Khator has mentored five Fellows. Her
commitment to mentoring diverse professionals helps expand the pipeline
to the presidency to include high-achievers from minority communities.
And her mentees all agree: She is authentic, attentive, thoughtful,
transparent, and personable.
“Her stellar career aside, President Khator has proven an invaluable
asset to the ACE Fellows Program,” said Sherri Lind Hughes, assistant
vice president of ACE Leadership. “As a mentor, she finds teaching
moments in all aspects of her presidency and doesn’t shy away from
hardships or obstacles as opportunities for her mentees to learn
something new.”
The UH System’s first woman chancellor and the first
Indian immigrant to head a comprehensive research university in the
United States, Khator assumed her current post in January 2008. She now
oversees a four-university system that serves nearly 71,000 students,
has an annual budget that exceeds $1.7 billion, and has a $6
billion-plus impact on the Greater Houston area’s economy each year.
During her tenure, UH has experienced record-breaking research
funding, enrollment, and private support. As part of an ongoing
$1.5-billion campus construction program, UH launched its 74-acre Energy
Research Park, opened its 40,000-seat TDECU Stadium, and increased
student residence hall capacity to 8,000. In 2015, UH was awarded a Phi
Beta Kappa chapter, one of fewer than 300 schools to earn that
designation from the prestigious national honor society. In 2011, UH
earned Tier One status, the Carnegie Foundation’s top category of
research universities.
Khator is a past chair of ACE’s Board of Directors and serves on
numerous other boards, forums, and councils. Prior to UH, Khator held
various positions at the University of South Florida. She earned her
bachelor's degree from Kanpur University (India) and her Master of Arts
and Doctor of Philosophy from Purdue University (IN).
“Fidelity is honored to bestow, along with ACE, this award to
President Khator,” said Debra Frey, vice president, Fidelity
Investments. “She is committed to mentoring the next generation of
higher education leaders and exemplifies the values of a successful
leader.”
Since 2008, Fidelity Investments has been a generous supporter of the
ACE Fellows Program, enabling the Council of Fellows to provide support
for the discretionary fund of the Mentor Award winner's institution as
well as the Fellows Fund for the Future, which provides stipends to
defray costs of sponsoring a Fellow for qualified institutions.
*ACE and Fidelity Investments® are independent entities and are
not legally affiliated. The recipients of the Council of
Fellows/Fidelity Investments Mentor Award are selected solely by the
Executive Committee of the Council of Fellows. Fidelity employees are
not involved, in any way, in determining, selecting, or approving the
recipient or amount of any award. The selection criteria and guidelines
for the award may be obtained directly from ACE.