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The Outstanding Honors Faculty Award recognizes an Honors faculty member whose teaching has both challenged and inspired students. Honors students nominate and select the recipient of this award, whose pedagogical engagement in Honors classrooms fuels the high-achieving students of the University Honors Program.

Todd Richardson, Ph.D.

Goodrich Scholarship Program
College of Public Affairs and Community Service

UNO is proud to recognize Todd Richardson, Ph.D., professor in the Goodrich Scholarship Program, as the 2025 recipient of the Outstanding Honors Faculty Award. Selected by Honors students, this award celebrates faculty who demonstrate excellence in teaching, support, and mentorship within the Honors curriculum.

Richardson was praised by students for his ability to cultivate thoughtful, challenging, and inclusive classroom experiences. One student noted, “He facilitates complex conversations and encourages students to contemplate questions that require challenging our own preconceptions… and he’s also willing to have his own ideas challenged through respectful debate”.

Known for integrating service learning into his courses, Richardson creates meaningful community-based experiences that extend beyond the classroom. In his Folklore and Literature course, for example, students partnered with organizations like Ollie Webb to support individuals with developmental disabilities, a collaboration that extended beyond class through continued volunteer opportunities.

Richardson also brings a unique, creative, and civic lens to his scholarship. His publications span traditional academic journals such as Journal of American Folklore and Cather Studies, alongside more experimental works including comics, satirical essays, and zines. He is the editor of Louise Pound: A Folklore and Literature Miscellany and co-curator of the 2021 49 Minutes of Fame exhibition at the National Willa Cather Center, which featured Indigenous Pop Art from across North America.

Through it all, students say Richardson fosters a learning environment where well-being, creativity, and authenticity are central. “He challenges and encourages students to be their best long term and take care of themselves,” one student shared. “He wants students to do things in the way that’s most expressive of them and their strengths”.

In addition to his work with the Honors Program, Dr. Richardson holds the James R. Schumacher Chair of Ethics in the College of Arts and Sciences, recognizing his continued leadership in ethical and engaged teaching.

Previous Award Winners

View the full list of award recipients