The Honors College

Dean, The Honors College 

Heidi Appel is Dean of the Honors College and Professor of Biology at UH. Heidi Appel and Jack Schultz have spent their careers talking with plants and the public.

Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Penn State University and former Director of the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center at the University of Missouri 

Jack Schultz is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Penn State University and Research Professor at UH. Heidi Appel and Jack Schultz have spent their careers talking with plants and the public.

Honors Alumna and National Brand Ambassador for Milam and Greene Whiskey

Blair Ault is the National Brand Ambassador for Milam & Greene Whiskey, a native Houstonian with a Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Washington who sits on the advisory board for the University of Houston Honors College and the United States Bartenders Guild Houston Chapter. She is a former high school teacher who combined her love of bartending and education to produce the Whiskey Women Podcast which has four seasons of episodes full of interviews with distillers from all over the country. When she is not traveling and educating about spirits, she hosts trivia games and produces the local storytelling show Grown-Up Story Time at the Continental Club.

General Manager, Texas Renaissance Festival

Jeff has been with Texas Renaissance Festival for nearly five decades. He fell in love with and joined the festival after attending with his eighth-grade theatre class. Since then, he has worked his way from face painter to performer, costumer, combat choreographer, script writer and assistant director. Jeff has also toured the national festival circuit with a swashbuckling stage act the “Duellists.” As a member of Festival’s management, he has held the positions of Marketing Director, Graphic Artist, Entertainment Director and now serves the festival as the General Manager. He has been actively involved with the Players Theatre Company, Stageworks, Stage Right of Texas and The Theatre Company of Bryan-College Station where he produces, directs, designs, or acts in productions every year. He has served as a Board Member and President of The Players Theatre Company in Conroe, a Board Member for Stageworks (as Houston Family Arts Center) in Cypress and spent time on the Cultural Arts Council of Tomball. As an actor he has performed with Theatre Under the Stars, Houston Shakespeare Festival, Stages Repertory Theatre, Main Street Theatre, among others throughout the Houston area. Recently he could be seen on HBO MAX’s documentary “Ren Faire.”

UH Alumna, President of BalyProjects, and Chair of the Harris County Women's Commission

The Honorable Jacquie Baly migrated to Texas from St. Croix, US Virgin Islands, at age seven, with parents originally from the French West Indies. A member of Kappa Delta Pi, Jacquie exemplifies dedication to education and excellence, and has over 16 years of experience as a professor at the University of Houston. She is a well-respected community leader and public policy expert, having advised Governor Abbott over the last decade on higher education initiatives and driving over $110 million in funding to public universities through the Governor’s University Research Initiative (GURI). Jacquie's contributions extend to the American Cancer Society, where she played a pivotal role in the enactment of a landmark $3 billion biomarker bill for cancer treatment and prevention. Locally, she has served as Mayor Pro Tem of Sugar Land and now chairs the Harris County Women’s Commission, advising on economic opportunities for women. Jacquie has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame, and is a proud mother to Raphael, a senior marketing specialist with an MBA from Boston College, and Alexandre, a Harvard Neuroscience graduate set to start medical school in the Fall. Jacquie and her husband, business executive James, reside in Houston, Texas.

Faculty, The Honors College

Michelle Belco is an attorney, political scientist, and published author who teaches a wide array of courses on American government and public policy in the Honors College. She enjoys engaging her students and audience by invoking humor and using games in her presentations.

UH Alumnus and Region Manager, Jackson Family Wines

About Jackson Family Wines:
Jackson Family Wines is a family-owned, vineyard-based company with a penchant for exploration. Founder Jess Jackson placed his faith in farming and a meticulous expression of wine with his first landscape-changing vintage in 1982, an ethos that chairman Barbara Banke, the Jackson family, and our employees continue to uphold to this day. The Jackson family’s collection of 40 wineries spans significant winegrowing regions, from California, Oregon, France, and Italy in the northern hemisphere, to Australia, Chile and South Africa in the southern half of the globe. Vineyard ownership and sustainable practices remain key to consistent quality and artisan winemaking underscores a steadfast commitment to making wines of character and integrity.

Wine Representative, Jackson Family Wines

About Jackson Family Wines:
Jackson Family Wines is a family-owned, vineyard-based company with a penchant for exploration. Founder Jess Jackson placed his faith in farming and a meticulous expression of wine with his first landscape-changing vintage in 1982, an ethos that chairman Barbara Banke, the Jackson family, and our employees continue to uphold to this day. The Jackson family’s collection of 40 wineries spans significant winegrowing regions, from California, Oregon, France, and Italy in the northern hemisphere, to Australia, Chile and South Africa in the southern half of the globe. Vineyard ownership and sustainable practices remain key to consistent quality and artisan winemaking underscores a steadfast commitment to making wines of character and integrity.

Chair, Department of Political Science

Jeffrey Church is Chair and Professor of Political Science at the University of Houston. He is a scholar of Political Theory and examines the relationship between morality and politics in government and the economy.

Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor, Cullen College of Engineering and Director of the NSF IUCRC BRAIN Center

Dr. Jose "Pepe" Luis Contreras-Vidal is the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor in the UH College of Engineering and Director of the NSF Industry–University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRC) Building Reliable Advances and Innovation in Neurotechnology (BRAIN) Center.

Irish Author, Faculty and Director of Creative Work: A Preprofessional Program, The Honors College

Robert Cremins is a novelist and essayist. Since 2010, he has lectured in the Honors College's Human Situation sequence. He is also the director of the Creative Work: A Pre-Professional Program.

Dean, Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts

Andrew Davis is Dean of the Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts at the University of Houston. A music theorist by training, he has published and lectured widely on opera and instrumental music of the Romantic and late-Romantic periods. He is the author of two books: Il Trittico, Turandot, and Puccini’s Late Style (Indiana University Press, 2010) and Sonata Fragments: Romantic Narratives in Chopin, Schumann, and Brahms (Indiana University Press, 2017). He holds the Ph.D. in music theory from Indiana University and currently holds the Cullen Foundation Endowed Dean’s Chair in the McGovern College of the Arts.

Honors Alum, Father of three Honors students/alums, and Founder and Director at EcoFab1 S.A.

Aris Economon is a proud cougar dad and Founder and Director at EcoFab1 S.A.

Dean of the College of Liberal and Fine Arts, Tarleton State University

Emran El-Badawi is Dean of the College of Liberal and Fine Arts at Tarleton State University, where he is also Full Professor of History, Geography and GIS. He is author of Female Divinity in the Qur'an (2024); Queens and Prophets (2022); The Qur’an and the Aramaic Gospel Traditions (2013), and co-editor of Communities of the Qur’an (2019). His current research projects include a book on female power in late antique Arabia, and another on hate speech as a global crisis. He has contributed to Forbes, The Houston Chronicle, and The Christian Science Monitor.

Honors Alumna, CEO of Logitech

Hanneke Faber is an alumna of the Honors College and became the CEO of Logitech in 2023.

Hanneke joined Logitech from Unilever where she led their $14 billion Nutrition business as group president. Her responsibility spanned more than 150 countries, and included global brands like Knorr and Hellmann’s, research & development, the B2B Unilever Food Solutions business and a supply chain of about 60 factories and contract manufacturers around the world. Hanneke joined Unilever in January 2018 as President Unilever Europe.

Prior to joining Unilever, Hanneke was the chief commercial officer of global retailer Ahold Delhaize, where she drove omnichannel retail operations and built the company’s e-commerce business into a global top 50 e-commerce player. Prior to Ahold Delhaize, she held various international leadership roles at Procter & Gamble, including vice president and general manager of global Pantene, Head & Shoulders and Herbal Essences; and vice president and general manager of Beauty Care, where she launched the Max Factor brand in China. 

Hanneke is a member of the board of directors and audit committee of Tapestry Inc, the parent company of luxury brands Coach, Kate Spade New York, and Stuart Weitzman. Prior to joining Tapestry in 2021, Hanneke served a five-year term on the supervisory board of Bayer AG, the life sciences company.

Hanneke holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Houston, which she attended on a full athletic scholarship in diving. She was a seven-time Dutch National Champion and an Honorable Mention All-American.

Hanneke was recognized by Fortune magazine as one of the most influential international women in business, as #23 in the latest ranking issued in 2021.

Managing Director, Alley Theatre

Dean R. Gladden is in his 19th season with the Alley Theatre where he is responsible for the administrative, financial, marketing, facilities, and development aspects of the Theatre. His career in the performing arts spans over 40 years. Prior to joining the Alley, he was Managing Director at the Cleveland Play House for 19 years and was the Director of Arts Management Graduate Program at the University of Akron. He has also lectured at Case Western Reserve University, University of Houston, and Bowling Green State University. During his career, he has overseen the production of over 300 plays, including and produced internationally with theatres from Russia, Mexico, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. Mr. Gladden holds a BA in Music from Miami University and a MA in Urban Arts Administration from Drexel University. He also graduated from the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program in Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management. He is currently the Treasurer of the Board of the Houston Theatre District, past Chair of the Board of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitor Bureau, past President of the Rotary Club of Cleveland, Ohio, and Senior Leadership Forum Fellow.

He has served on the Executive Committee of the League of Resident Theatres, Greater Houston Partnership, and was Vice President of the National Corporate Theatre Fund. Gladden has served on panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, Ohio Arts Council, Wisconsin Arts Council, Kentucky Arts Council, Texas Commission on the Arts and the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage in Philadelphia. He has lectured nationally for Theatre Communications Group, American Council for the Arts, Association of Performing Arts Professionals, National Association of State Legislators and American Dance Festival. He served on the Pedagogical Advisory Board of the Master of Management in International Arts Management with HEC Montreal, Southern Methodist University, and SDA Bocconi, Milan, Italy. He has presented at the Santiago a Mil Festival in Chile and conducted Arts Management workshops in Budapest, Hungary, under the sponsorship of the United States Information Agency.

Director, Honors Debate Program, The Honors College

Rob Glass is the director of debate in the Honors College. Before coming to the University of Houston, he worked with a number of high schools and colleges on the East Coast, including Stuyvesant High School, Binghamton University, Mamaroneck High School, and the University of Rochester. He is also a leading contributor to the field of data analysis and debate, including the first rigorous study of large-scale judge behaviour in debate. 

CEO of the Center for Houston's Future

David Gow is the CEO of the Center for Houston’s Future (CHF), an organization that addresses long-term, strategic questions for the greater Houston region.  Gow joined CHF in September, 2024, and the first order of business is to develop a strategic plan for the city, an initiative called Houston 2050. 

Gow is also the founder and chair of Gow Media, a multiplatform media company, with assets that include ESPN Radio in Houston, CultureMap, InnovationMap, SportsMap and Energycapitalhtx.com.  He also serves as chair of Multi-Sensor Artificial Intelligence, a publicly traded company he formed through a SPAC acquisition.  Gow is a board member of Goose Capital, a prestigious Houston-based angel group that invests in early-stage ventures.  In April, 2024 the Texas Venture fórum named Gow the Texas Investor of the Year, highlighting Gow’s successful SPAC merger and his investments as part of Goose Capital.

Previously Gow was the CFO and ultimately CEO of Ashford.com, a leading e-tailer of watches.  Gow’s background also includes serving as Director of Corporate Strategy at Compaq Computers and as a consultant for McKinsey & Co. 

Gow's educational background includes a master’s degree from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree from Williams College. 

Retired Faculty, The Honors College

Irene Guenther has a Ph.D. in 20th-century European and American history.   She has published on the German-Jewish fashion industry in Nazi Germany, soldiers’ art of the First World War, genocide and human rights, fascism, and the Great Migration.  As a kid who detested her history classes, she is still incredulous that, after “taking many roads,” she found her life’s calling in the classroom and in the historical profession.

Faculty, The Honors College and Managing Editor of the Houston History magazine, UH Center for Public History

Debbie Harwell is a native Houstonian, who teaches courses in US and Houston History. After Harvey, she taught a course called Voices from the Storm, looking at Houston through the lens of storms, which involved students interviewing community members about their experiences. She is the editor of Houston History magazine, published by the UH Center for Public History, which has published over 130 student articles since 2013.

Director, Energy and Sustainability Minor, The Honors College, Semi-professional poker player

Nick Jacobsen is a faculty member in the Honors College and the Director of the Energy and Sustainability Minor. His research focuses on community-based conservation in Africa as well as sustainable energy development. In his free time, Nick has been a serious poker player for over 15 years and briefly played semi-professionally.

Faculty, The Honors College

Janet Lawler is an Instructional Assistant Professor in the Honors College, where she teaches a variety of courses for the College’s interdisciplinary minors. She writes on ethical and normative questions at the intersection of digitality and democratic political theory, and frequently contributes to the scholarship on teaching and learning. She earned her PhD in political science from the University of Virginia and conducted postdoctoral research at Carnegie Mellon University before joining the University of Houston in Fall 2023.

Director of the Prelaw Program, The Honors College

Alison Leland is a law and politics professor in the Honors College, who works closely with pre-law students.

Faculty, The Honors College

Christine LeVeaux-Haley is a political science professor in the Honors College. Professor LeVeaux received her bachelor's degree from Spelman College in Atlanta and her doctorate from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Her teaching and research interests include legislative politics, Black politics, and political behavior. LeVeaux has fused these research areas together, focusing much of her attention on minority representation in congress and Black electoral politics. She is also a political commentator for local and national news outlets, including CNN. Her work appears in the Legislative Studies Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, and an edited volume titled, Eye of the Storm: The South in an Era of Change.

Faculty, The Honors College

Robert Liddell teaches in the Medicine & Society minor in the Honors College. He holds an MFA in fiction from the University of Houston Creative Writing Program. His short story, “What Ever Happened to Sebastian Grosjean?” appeared in the Gettysburg Review and the anthology, Best New American Voices 2007. He has taught the Human Situation for the Honors College, as well as literature and creative writing at the University of Houston. He has also taught for Inprint, Inc., and the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies at Rice University.

Associate Dean, The Honors College

Stuart Long is presently Associate Dean of Undergraduate Research and the Honors College and was previously Interim Dean of the Honors College. Additionally, Dr. Long regularly teaches the Honors section of the undergraduate introductory course in applied electromagnetic waves. He has been a research mentor to over 90 undergraduate students during his 50 year career at the University of Houston. He holds a Ph.D. in applied physics from Harvard University, and his research involves antenna design, wireless communications, and applied electromagnetics.

Faculty, The Honors College

John Lunstroth is an interdisciplinary legal scholar focusing on the history of the western tradition esp. law, political theory, religion, colonialism and science. He has been working in comparative religion for the last twelve years. He is interested in what it means to be alive.

Faculty, The Honors College

Iain Morrison teaches in the Human Situation course and in the department of philosophy. His interests include 18th and 19th century ethical theory and moral psychology, existentialism, and aesthetics. He has published articles on Kant and Nietzsche and had his first book published in fall 2008. It is called "Kant and the Role of Pleasure in Moral Action." He received his doctorate from The University of Texas at Austin./p>

UH Alumna, Attorney, and Author

Attorney, Mediator, Wife, Mother, Grandmother, runner, co-founder of Houston chapter of the National Association of Urban Debate Leagues, Volunteer Charitable Fundraiser. Author. Latest book: The Barber, The Astronaut and The Golf Ball. First woman in Texas to win the Democratic Party nomination for U.S. Senate.

Executive Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards, The Honors College

Ben Rayder is an instructional assistant professor in the Honors College and the executive director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards. Prior to joining the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards in 2017, he worked as the assistant director in the fellowships office at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Rayder holds a doctorate in comparative politics from the University of Bamberg and a master’s in modern European studies from the University College London. He earned a bachelor’s in political science and German from the College of the Holy Cross.

Faculty, The Honors College

Max Rayneard is an Instructional Assistant Professor in the Honors College and teaches in the Human Situation course and the Creative Work minor. He serves as the Associate Director of the Creative Work minor and is the founding director of The FrameWorks Program.

Max Rayneard completed his bachelor’s degree in English and philosophy and his master’s degree in English literature at Rhodes University in South Africa. He lectured at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University before earning a doctorate degree in comparative literature at the University of Oregon. While at the University of Oregon, he co-created the process and aesthetic for what would become The Telling Project, a national performing arts non-profit that staged stories told by military veterans, refugees, and war-adjacent populations. Rayneard has written and/or directed productions across the United States, including such venues as The Library of Congress in Washington DC, The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis MN, and the Alley Theatre in Houston TX. He is the recipient of a number of awards and grants, including a Fulbright Scholarship (2004-2006), a University of Texas at Austin Humanities Institute Community Sabbatical Grant (2015-2016), and a National Endowment for the Humanities Grant for "Planting the Oar," a literature-based discussion series between military veterans and civilians (2016-2018).

Assistant Dean, The Honors College

Brenda Rhoden is the director of the leadership studies minor and assistant dean for student success in the Honors College. Rhoden oversees the student lifecycle in Honors, from recruitment and admissions to advising and leadership development to graduation. She works closely with a number of student cohorts including Terry Scholars, Houston Premedical Academy, Honors Ambassadors, and HonorsMed (HMed) students. In Rhoden’s time with the Honors College, she has established many initiatives to ensure student success, such as Honors Ambassadors, the Faculty Advising Network, and the Honors Mentorship Program.

Faculty, The Honors College

Dr. Rita Sharp is a molecular biochemist who teaches Honors Biology and Science Communication in the Honors College. She also directs the Honors in Co-Curricular Engagement Honors designation, which recognizes students who are actively involved in experiential programs outside of the classroom. Dr. Sharp is an Honors alumna and a graduate of UT-Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.

Faculty, Cullen College of Engineering

Dave Shattuck (aka Dr. Dave) was born at a very young age in upstate NY.  He has done research in medical imaging with ultrasound, and in well-logging.  He teaches courses in circuit analysis and electronics in the College of Engineering.  He hit .097 in Little League, with 1 RBI in 54 games, earning a trophy for "Conspicuous Ineptitude" in 1996.

Faculty, The Honors College

Tamler Sommers is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Houston with a joint appointment in the Honors College. He is the author of several books including Why Honor Matters (Basic Books 2018) and the host of the Very Bad Wizardspodcast.

Emmy Award-winning producer, documentary filmmaker, and author

Lois Farfel Stark was an Emmy awarded documentary producer/writer for NBC News, filming in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Cuba.  She is the author of the prize winning book The Telling Image: Shapes of Changing Times. 

Associate Dean, The Honors College

Jonathan Williamson, Ph.D., is associate dean for academic programs and faculty affairs and the Michael Andrew Little Professor in the Honors College. Williamson graduated from the Honors College magna cum laude ('95), majoring in political science and psychology. He is squarely (all meanings intended) a member of Generation X.