Honors Faculty of Distinction
Our Honors Faculty of Distinction award is an accolade that recognizes instructional faculty in any school or discipline who demonstrates excellence in honors education. The recipients of this accolade are educational innovators who adhere to an informed, student-centric pedagogical approach and whose commitment and performance not only teach but inspire honors students during their academic journey.
This page recognizes previous recipients. To learn about our latest recipients, please visit .
Dr. Bianca Easterly
Awarded by the Reaud Honors College to any instructional faculty in any school or discipline who demonstrates excellence in honors education
2023-2024 - INAUGURAL YEAR
Dr. Bianca Easterly (Associate Professor of Political Science) has taught a variety of undergraduate political sciences courses, including Honors American Government in the Reaud Honors College, and was selected by our honors students as Honors Professor of the Year in 2017-2018. She is also one of the first honors professors to integrate students’ ePortfolios into her honors coursework, encouraging our honors students to showcase their projects analyzing real problems faced by local cities and presenting solutions implemented by other cities that could resolve contemporary political issues.
“Through her role as a mentor in my life, I truly believe that Dr. Easterly genuinely cares about the overall success of her students both inside and outside of the classroom,” one of her students said.
Inside the classroom, the student shared with us, Dr. Easterly engages her students in critical thinking through activities that include forming political parties, participating in mock elections, and conducting semester-long research analyzing city government initiatives. Outside of the classroom, her mentorship has included summer opportunities for honors students that ranged from coding state bills introduced in the state legislature to providing rural education distance programming, expanding on the challenges facing college students while voting in Texas elections.
“Through her counsel and support in our career, academic, and individual objectives,” the student said, “she has clearly conveyed her interest in our success as honors students.”