'I am extremely honored': Turley named director of Rice University Kinder Institute of Urban Research

Ruth Turley will step into the role as the next director of the Kinder Institute of Urban Research, following a decision by the Rice University Board of Trustees earlier this month. 

Turley, who has been at Rice since 2010, will succeed incumbent Kinder head Bill Fulton. She currently serves as associate director for Kinder.

“Turley will begin her new journey after the current @RiceKinderInst director steps down on June 30, 2022,” Rice University wrote in a tweet. 

In a release Dec. 1, the university said the Kinder Institute has become a reliable source of impartial research and advice on issues including the Hurricane Harvey response, public pensions, city finances, affordable housing, education and metropolitan growth.

“I am extremely honored to step into this role,” Turley said in the release. “Together with the institute’s talented staff, we will continue to advance the institute's mission to build better cities and improve people's lives through data, research, engagement and action.”

Rice Provost and soon-to-be university President Reginald DesRoches said he is thrilled Turley will be leading the Kinder Institute as it moves forward, the release states. 

"She is a dynamic leader who is well respected by the faculty and the broader Houston community, and I think this is the natural next step for a researcher and leader of her caliber. I look forward to working with Ruth as she begins a new chapter for the institute and for Rice,” DesRoches said in the release. 

According to a report by Houston Public Media, Turley plans to raise Kinder’s impact with deeper community engagement once she officially starts the job. 

The Kinder Institute works to provide urban policy research, data and policy analysis for the Houston area, with its annual Houston Area Survey becoming an influential document in understanding the county’s growth over recent decades, Houston Public Media reports. 

Raised along the U.S.-Mexico border, Turley graduated from Stanford and holds a master's and a Ph.D. from Harvard, the article states. She founded the Houston Education Research Consortium in 2011, helping school districts provide equitable education opportunities to students in the area.