Six top educators were honored this year with New Mexico State University’s first-ever Regents Professorships for countless contributions to and advancement of the university’s mission through education, research and public service endeavors.

The most recent addition to the prestigious teaching awards bestowed on faculty members, the Regents Professorships are designed to recognize exceptional professors who have distinguished themselves as leaders in their various fields, dedicated mentors, scholars and academic professionals who continually support the enhancement of education in the community.

Award recipients were announced in January and each received an engraved office chair and an annual $12,500 stipend. As part of the role of Regents Professors, each will serve as an adviser to other faculty members and will help address university issues, including improving academic quality and research.

From disciplines as varied as literature, economics and analytical chemistry, these six faculty members embody the spirit of the award through their impressive academic and professional accomplishments. They will set the standard and lead the way for future Regents Professors.

The Writer
Kevin McIlvoy

Professor Kevin McIlvoy envisioned a top-notch Master of Fine Arts creative writing program – the first in the state – and made it reality. The program offers poets and fiction writers an opportunity to work in a small, personalized setting and earn a terminal degree in their field without leaving New Mexico.

McIlvoy has achieved distinction as an author in his own right, with four novels and more than 30 short stories to his credit, and he has been honored for his work as editor of the highly respected national literary magazine, Puerto del Sol.

Whether he is teaching an undergraduate English course, a graduate class in creative writing or leading a writing workshop for senior citizens, he continues to guide students of all ages to writing success.

The Economist
Jim Peach

Gifted economist Jim Peach examines the economic currents running through the southwest with an eye to issues ranging from demographics to the impact of NAFTA.

Peach is a sought-after border economic specialist, presenting his research to both private and government organizations, including the U.S.- Mexico Chamber of Commerce. He also is a principle founder of The Journal of the Borderland Studies, a national publication that has become the premier journal on border issues.

The Novelist
Ricardo Aguilar Melantzon

A prize-winning novelist, poet and scholar, professor Ricardo Aguilar Melantzon gives voice to the complex story of the borderlands.

A native of El Paso with more than 20 published works to his credit, Aguilar has detailed his life on the border in personal essays, short stories and novels. His writing has earned him the Jose Fuentes Mares Mexican National Prize for Literature, the Book of the Year Award from the Southwest Regional Library Association and a National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship for Fiction.

The Futurist
Lowell Catlett

An internationally soughtafter consultant and speaker, Lowell Catlett makes sense of the rapid social and technological changes shaping our lives. He is a widely published expert in commodity markets and has worked with the world’s most progressive companies and educational institutions discussing near- and long-term futures.

Catlett is a respected agricultural economist and top-notch educator, bringing real-world lessons to his students for more than 20 years. One of the university’s master teachers, he combines innovative methods with thought-provoking topics – his upper-division and honors classes are some of the most popular on campus.

The Anthropologist
Wenda Trevathan

One of the top anthropologists working today, Wenda Trevathan’s groundbreaking research on childbirth and parenting continues to advance the field of evolutionary anthropology.

She is an internationally recognized expert in medical and biological anthropology and the recipient of the Margaret Mead Award from the American Anthropological Association and the Society for Applied Anthropology for her research on the evolution of human birth. Trevathan’s expertise extends to teaching and mentorship activities as well.

The Inventor
Joseph Wang

Professor Joe Wang is an innovator in the world of analytical chemistry and micro-instrumentation, with 600 papers and six patents to his credit and a growing list of honors.

His cutting-edge instrumentation, including a wristwatch device that monitors glucose levels in diabetics and a hand-held sensor that measures water pollution, has helped bring analyzation capabilities out of the laboratory and into the field.