Rate My Professors, a website where college students can find and write reviews on their professors, has ranked Shereen Siddiqui third in the country for top women’s studies professors.

“[This ranking is] quite an honor, because [Rate My Professors] is student driven and initiated,” Siddiqui said.

The rankings by Rate My Professors, done in honor of Women’s History Month, were based on ratings submitted by students. Siddiqui won third with an average score of 4.9.

Siddiqui has been teaching at FAU since 2001, and has taught several classes in women’s studies, including Intro to Women’s Studies, Sex and Gender in American Culture, and Women, Violence, Resistance.

One student wrote on Rate My Professors, “Hands down the best professor I’ve ever had. I took her for every class she taught.”

Another student said, “Shereen’s passion for teaching, culture, learning, and people is evident in everything she does. Her discussions and curriculum are designed to connect the class with the lesson.”

Siddiqui said that she has an unconventional way of teaching. “I ask them to call me by my first name. I have a very non-authoritative teaching style. I think students find that refreshing … they’re being heard, and not just recognized,” said Siddiqui.

She knows all of her students by name, and she has them sit in a circle during lecture so that they feel more comfortable contributing to discussions.

“My classes really engage students. I’m not just asking them to memorize information and regurgitate it on an exam. I’m asking them to truly think critically,” Siddiqui said.

One of her former students, Moira Leonard, a freshman studying linguistics, said that Siddiqui is “kind, open, and fosters a great sense of confidence in her students.”

She added: “[Siddiqui] makes every student feel valuable, and their voices worthy of hearing.”

Siddiqui was ranked third after Vaughan Frederick of Old Dominion University and David Christian of California State University, Fullerton.

Siddiqui no longer teaches women’s studies at FAU, but continues to teach Honors Introduction to College Life every fall. Currently she writes articles and does research, marketing and communications for the doctoral program in the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters.

Maya-Laura Vizcaino is a contributing writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet her @Mayavizcaino .