Something historic happened on UH President Renu Khator’s Twitter account Wednesday: she tweeted in response to a question someone asked.
On Tuesday, Khator told The Daily Cougar that she only uses her Twitter account to send out messages promoting campus events and programs — a strategy some students consider ineffective.
“I don’t tweet back,” Khator said. “I use it in a sense of giving out information.”
Khator said she uses email to receive and respond to questions from students, promising a reply within three days.
However, on Wednesday, she responded to Twitter user @NIAHSPRIGGS who tweeted, “@UHpres If you live in the towers can you go to The Village for tutoring?”
Khator responded, “@NIAHSPRIGGS fyi…Tutoring Center is open to ALL students.”
In a research study by Pew Research, 18 percent of college presidents surveyed said they use Twitter at least occasionally. Khator said she tweets regularly, at least five times a week. Her account has more than 3,500 followers and nearly 1,000 tweets.
Khator said she went home and set up her own account, which she operates herself, after a discussion about Twitter with her staff. She said she wanted to try out the technology in efforts to be more visible and connected with the UH community. She often tweets event info, pictures and scores during UH football games.
“It was my real, sincere desire to connect with the University,” she said.
“My idea was to really be able to reach out to students, staff and faculty.”
Katherine Hughes, a hospitality management graduate student, said Khator needs to respond to tweets in order to connect with students and her colleagues. Hughes is currently taking a class on social media.
“It’s always better in social media to be responsive to your audience,” she said. “Then, more people will read what she has to say.”
It is unclear if Khator will begin responding to tweets frequently or if her response on Wednesday was a one-time occasion.
She said her focus for now is to use Twitter to share information about the University.
“Even if I can’t be out there, I want people to know that I’m here,” she said. “I’m letting them know the great things about the university and the challenges we face.”