Houston: An Indian-American couple has established a tier one scholarship worth more than USD 100,000 in the prestigious University of Houston. Renu Khator, system chancellor and president of the University of Houston, and her husband Suresh, associate dean in the UH Cullen College of Engineering, have contributed more than USD 100,000 to establish the Renu and Suresh Khator UH tier one scholarship endowment. With matching funding, the endowment was augmented to USD 200,000, giving new energy to the University's tier one scholarship programme. "The University of Houston offers more than USD 150 million in aid and scholarship(s) each year to freshmen and transfer students. Most of it is need-based, but a few, including tier one scholarships, are based on merit," Khator said.

"Offering scholarships to freshmen, whether need-based or merit-based, encourages them to attend college, and more specifically, to choose UH," Khator said. The tier one scholarship programme admits students who have a combined math and critical reading SAT score of at least 1300, were ranked in the top 10 per cent of their class and were admitted to the University in the fall semester following their high school graduation, in accordance with the guidelines from the tier one website. With the recent donation, the program will be able to offer as many as 200 more merit-based scholarships to noteworthy freshmen. Established through an anonymous USD 7 million donation, the programme was bolstered by a challenge Khator issued to the UH community, in which new scholarship contributions (of USD 25,000 or more) are matched dollar-for-dollar.

Creation of a powerful USD 14 million scholarship endowment is well within reach, as generous donors have helped move the University within USD 500,000 of achieving the match goal. Each donor gift to date was vital in helping the University attract the 181 tier one scholars currently on campus, said Paula Myrick Short, senior vice chancellor/senior vice president and provost. The gift from the Khators "provides additional cache, boosting recruiting efforts that could result in even more of the best and brightest students choosing UH over other institutions," she said. The tier one scholarship programme's benefits extend far beyond financial assistance, which includes all tuition and mandatory fees for up to four years of undergraduate study.