Casey Davenport honored with Bonnie E. Cone Early-Career Professorship in Teaching

Casey Davenport, associate professor in the Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographical Sciences in the College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences, is the 2025 recipient of the Bonnie E. Cone Early-Career Professorship in Teaching. This award recognizes exceptional teaching by a faculty member early in their career. She was honored at the Spring Faculty Awards, Thursday, May 1, in the Popp Martin Student Union.

Since joining the faculty in 2014, Davenport has created and taught a range of undergraduate and graduate courses, including Meteorology First-Year Seminar, Dynamic Meteorology and Teaching and Learning in the Geosciences. Her courses are marked by engaging, active-learning techniques such as collaborative assessments, flipped classrooms and reflections that encourage students to critically assess their learning experiences.

“Dr. Davenport has distinguished herself in the department and beyond as an excellent instructor and student mentor,” said Sara A. Gagné, associate professor and chair of earth, environmental and geographical sciences. “These achievements are a direct result of Dr. Davenport’s innovative teaching techniques, curriculum contributions, assessment of student learning and effective advising and mentoring.”

Davenport’s scholarly contributions in the field of pedagogical research include her work being featured on the cover of the Journal of Geoscience Education and published in top-tier journals. She has received several accolades, including the 2018 Integration of Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award from the-then College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and the department’s Tyrel Moore Mentorship Award in 2017.

Beyond her teaching and research accomplishments, Davenport is a dedicated mentor. She has advised numerous graduate and undergraduate students, many of whom have earned recognition at conferences and national meetings. Her students thrive under her guidance, winning awards such as the Graduate School’s Outstanding Master’s Thesis Award and the National Association of Geoscience Teachers’ Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award.

Davenport, who earned a doctorate in atmospheric sciences and a Master of Science in Atmospheric Sciences from North Carolina State University, completed a bachelor’s degree in meteorology from Valparaiso University.

Read more about UNC Charlotte’s 2025 Spring Faculty Award recipients.