Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush on Monday was honored at the University of Texas at Austin, which awarded the oldest son of Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush its first Latino Leadership Award, the institution said in a statement.

Nicole Guidotti-Hernández, who chairs the university's Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies, lauded Bush's "resume and record of excellence," saying the 38-year-old stood out among those who contribute to "our diverse Latino Texas."

"His life-long commitment to service as a teacher, veteran, (University of Texas) alumnus and land commissioner makes him an exemplar of why transformative leadership is valued and necessary," Guidotti-Hernández noted.

Bush, who has headed the Texas General Land Office since January, said he was "honored and humbled" to receive the award given for his service. But not everybody in the local Latino community agreed that the grandson of former President George H.W. Bush and nephew of former President George W. Bush was the best pick as an honoree, NBC News reported.

Some question whether Bush's conservative views benefit Texas' Latinos, and Martha Cotera, a founder of the Center for Mexican American Studies, challenged the university's decision to give its first award to a politician.

"Why did they choose to politicize this award at a time when there is division in Texas on democratic issues that predominate in the Latino community?" Cotera asked.

Gonzalo Barrientos, a former Democratic state legislator who chaired the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, meanwhile, wondered what criteria the institution used to pick Bush; others have also complained of a lack of transparency in the decision, according to NBC News.

Bush's office would not comment on the criticism, the channel said.

The land commissioner, meanwhile, made local headlines on Tuesday when he turned to typographical matters, banning the use of Comic Sans -- the playful typeface created by Microsoft in the mid-1990s -- at his agency, the (Fort Worth, Texas) Star-Telegram noted.

"While this unrefined font is appropriate for early childhood instruction in our Texas schools, the use of Comic Sans is not befitting when conducting business on key matters concerning the state of Texas," Bush said in a statement. "Comic Sans has no place at an agency positioning itself as a technological pioneer," he added.