A Latin Americanist by training, Bridget María Chesterton joined Buffalo State’s Department of History and Social Studies Education in 2007 and quickly established a reputation as a caring and innovative instructor whose classes are designed to both meet students where they are while simultaneously pushing them to excel. She has been a departmental leader in embracing new technologies, including the use of the online social learning platform Perusal and a willingness to teach some of her courses online. Chesterton is also a prolific and award winning scholar, having published 3 books, 2 edited volumes, and more than two dozen book chapters and scholarly articles, earning her the 2016 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research and Creativity and the 2026 Best Article Award presented by the Middle Atlantic Conference on Latin American Studies. She routinely uses her scholarly activity as a model to inspire students both in and out of the classroom. In addition to regularly teaching the department’s Research and Writing Seminar where students learn to do original research and produce traditional research papers, she also makes regular use of innovative and creative assignments like the UnEssay - which allows students to present their findings in untraditional formats ranging from line art to cookery - in all of her courses. Chesterton routinely encourages her students to present their work both on and off campus, either as participants in Buffalo State’s annual Student Research and Creativity Conference or at presentations at regional conferences of Phi Alpha Theta, the national history honor society. As founder and chief editor of the online history and social studies journal The Exposition, she has also enabled students to get their work published. Her record of encouraging student success extends well beyond the classroom. She is an accomplished advisor and frequent mentor to students seeking guidance on career options or graduate school. One of her mentors, Tiana Wilson, went on to complete a PhD at the University of Texas and is currently employed as an assistant professor of Africana studies at the University of Pittsburgh. Another, Jevin Watkins, is pursuing an MA in history at the University of Missouri-Columbia. When asked about Dr. Chesterton’s commitment to her students, Watkins replied “Her pedagogy, dedication to student mentorship beyond the classroom and her own active engagement with her field create an unparalleled academic ecosystem centered around her scholarship and zeal for the profession.”