A Penn State professor and four Penn State graduates were named among NerdScholar’s “40 Under 40: Professors Who Inspire,” a list that celebrates professors who “are cultivating passion in their students.”

Public relations professor Michel M. Haigh, pictured above, represented Penn State’s faculty on the list. Haigh, who’s from a town of 101 people in South Dakota, began teaching here in 2006 after obtaining her Ph.D. from Oklahoma. From NerdScholar:

Regarded as a tough but compassionate professor by her students, they say it is her ability to prepare them for the real world, along with her genuine concern for their well-being, that makes her stand out. Haigh says, “My goal is to challenge them, prepare them, and send them off to be strategic thinkers. My students challenge me to be a better person and a better teacher every day.”

Haigh, who has a glowing Rate My Professor page, has co-authored more than 35 conference presentations, published more than 30 articles, and was the only Big Ten professor on the list.

Haigh was joined by four Penn State graduates: Sara Drury, ’11, of Wabash College; Maggie Thomas, ’09, of Earlham College; Leidy Klotz, ’08, of Clemson; and Mina Tsay-Vogel, ’07, of Boston University. Respectively, the four teach rhetoric, psychology, civil engineering, and communications. Congratulations to this group for the recognition!