Renu Khator will be inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame for making significant contribution for the benefit of the US’s second largest state.

“Thank you, Governor! I am honoured and humbled,” the 61-year-old Chancellor and President of the prestigious University of Houston (UH) said.

According to the statement announcing her induction, she is the “first Indian immigrant to be head a comprehensive public research university in the United States.”

She will be inducted into the hall of fame at the Texas Women’s University of Denton on October 21 along with Selena; Emma Carter Browning, a pilot, businesswoman and aviation pioneer; Susie Hitchcocl-Hall, an entrepreneur, businesswoman and founder of Susie’s South Forty Confections in Midland; and Ginger Kerrick, the division chief of the Flight Operations Directorate Integration Division at NASA’s Johnson Space Center which provides support to the astronauts and flight directors.

“Whether in public service, the arts, business or education, these leaders have inspired generations of Texans to reach new heights, achieve new goals and elevate the Lone Star State. I would like to thank each of the honourees and their families for their families for their enduring contributions to the State of Texas,” Governor Greg Abbott said.

During Khator’s eight-year tenure, the UH has lured numerous members of the prestigious national academies or science and engineering. Incoming undergraduates are making better grades and returning at a higher rate, a sign that the university’s sluggish graduation rate could pick up.

Khator, the first Indian-American to lead a major research university in the US, is also the president of University of Houston’s main campus. She is largely credited with pushing the UH once known as “Cougar High” towards the nation’s top-tier research universities.

Born in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad district, Khator earned her Bachelors degree from Kanpur university in 1973, is the eighth chancellor of the UH system and the 13th president of the UH.

The Texas Women’s Hall of Fame accepts nominations biannually and is open to any native or current residents of Texas, living or deceased, who have made significant contributions that have benefited the State of Texas.