Michelle Pantoya and William Wenthe round out the first 100 faculty to receive the honor.

Michelle Pantoya and William Wenthe were named Horn Distinguished Professors Thursday and Friday (March 6-7) at the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents meeting held in Lubbock. 

The Horn Professorship was created in 1966 by the board of regents to confer recognition and facilitate retention of faculty members who have gained national or international distinction. Also considered is the unique impact a professor has made in their field through outstanding research or other creative scholarly achievement. 

The appointment is the highest honor the university may bestow on members of its tenured faculty. The nomination of a professor is made by a department chair, dean or another Horn Distinguished Professor. 

“We are proud to honor two exceptional faculty members with the Horn Professor designation,” said Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec. “Drs. Pantoya and Wenthe have demonstrated dedication to their fields and inspired countless students, colleagues and the broader academic community. Their commitment to excellence in teaching and research is a testament to what makes this institution great.”

This year’s Horn Distinguished Professors are the 99th and 100th to receive the honor; they round out an impressive list of faculty from many fields of study. 

Pantoya is the J.W. Wright Regents Chair in Mechanical Engineering and director of the Combustion Lab at Texas Tech’s Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering. She joined the faculty of Texas Tech in 2000. She has a leading role in projects from the Army Research Office on novel metal surface chemistry for fast reacting fuel particles and for the Energetic Material Basic Research Center (EMBR). Her work has been published in more than 200 journal articles, including papers in several Nature and Science journals. She is the recipient of the U.S. Presidential Early Career Award and the Department of Defense Young Investigator Award. 

“Being named a Horn Professor is very exciting,” Pantoya said. “I’ve tried to make an impact on the students here, so Texas Tech recognizing that is a rewarding feeling.” 

Pantoya says she visited many universities when starting her academic career 24 years ago, but Texas Tech stood out. She felt there was equal emphasis on teaching, research and service, which were all important to her. 

“Texas Tech was this big, beautiful canvas I felt I could create a masterpiece on,” she said. “I’ve had opportunities to work elsewhere but I love what I do here, and I enjoy interacting with our students.” 

Pantoya certainly has created something special. Many of her students have gone on to become academic deans or lead projects for the Department of Defense. 

“To think I had just a little influence on such stimulating and successful careers is rewarding,” she said. 

Wenthe is a professor of creative writing, poetry and Later British Literature in the Department of English at Texas Tech’s College of Arts & Sciences. He has been on faculty at Texas Tech since 1992 and has published five books of poems during that time. His most recent book “The Gentle Art,” was published in 2023. He is the recipient of two Pushcart Prizes and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts and Texas Commission on the Arts. He has been published in numerous journals, including but not limited to The Paris Review, TriQuarterly, Orion, Chelsea and The Literary Review. 

“Being named a Horn Professor has produced a deep sense of happiness and satisfaction,” Wenthe said. “It’s a lot of work coming together over the years, and I feel real gratitude to those who helped make it happen.” 

Wenthe said the appointment also brings a new sense of responsibility. 

He has taught countless students during his time at Texas Tech. Some of those students had never read poetry before, some came to Wenthe as graduate students with published work. No matter where they were in their journey, students have challenged Wenthe to think about writing in new ways. 

“To this day, I still can’t believe I get paid to walk into a room and talk about poetry,” Wenthe said, beaming. 

The faculty member credits Texas Tech for the support provided that’s enabled him to publish so many books. Each of his published works can be traced back to a faculty development leave. His poems include an extensive amount of research and travel, allowing him to write about certain places and topics with an engaged and observant awareness. 

When Wenthe first arrived, there were fewer resources, but over his 33 years, he has witnessed the university’s transformation from a regional institution to a national presence, achieving the Carnegie Classification of Very High Research Activity (R1). 

There is more funding than ever before, but Wenthe says he stays at Texas Tech because the spirit of support has been there all along.