Khator: UH is 'steadily climbing toward our goal to be ranked among the top 50 public universities in the nation'

University of Houston (UH) President Dr. Renu Khator’s 15th State of the University Address presented the 96-year-old public institution in Houston’s Third Ward neighborhood as in the midst of seemingly unstoppable momentum. This momentum, per Khator, is sustained by UH’s rise from No. 91 to No. 70 in the U.S. News & World Report national rankings of public universities.

"We are proud to be steadily climbing toward our goal to be ranked among the top 50 public universities in the nation,” the president, who also serves as chancellor of the University of Houston System (UHS), said in a video clip the school posted on X on October 11th.

Khator additionally highlighted the campus’s ongoing growth, with four new construction projects slated to commence in the years ahead. She said these projects will help UH achieve its goal of becoming a top 50 public university.

According to a report about the address on the university’s website, Khator called on faculty and staff to further prioritize student success, saying she wants the school to achieve a minimal 75% graduation rate. UH recently experienced a 2% bump, but Khator cautioned the university could stand to build on it.

“We have worked diligently to break down the barriers that students face … Our job — helping students succeed and helping faculty find breakthroughs — in itself is a source of gratification, a true worthy cause,” she said, per the university.

The previous year saw UH officially join the Big 12 Conference, to which Khator said was almost 30 years in the making.

“The University of Houston is back in a power conference exactly where we belong,” the president said, according to a clip on X. “On my first day at UH, people reminded me of the days of Phi Slama Jama or the days when the Heisman Trophy came to the University of Houston, or the days when UH played in the big league and beat them all.”

Phi Slama Jama was the famed men’s basketball squad led by future National Basketball Association (NBA) legends Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler while ex-quarterback Andre Ware is UH’s lone Heisman recipient, all of which occurred in the 1980s.

Khator delivered the address at Moores Opera House, with hundreds in attendance, the university said.