By Maggie Meegan | Reporter
Two Baylor professors achieved the 2026 Centennial Professors Award and with it, $5,000 in funding for research projects.
Dr. Alexander McNair, an associate professor of Spanish in the modern languages and cultures department, and Dr. Kelly Johnston, associate professor in curriculum and instruction in the Moody School of Education, were the two recipients this year.
This funding allows both professionals to continue their research through the next academic school year.
For Johnston, the award is a milestone marking her time at Baylor.
“This recognition affirms that the university values faculty whose scholarship and practice are in meaningful conversation with each other, and this initiative is a direct product of that relationship,” Johnston said. “Being able to bring that expertise to bear on Baylor’s own community, in a place where alumni flourishing is an institutional value, is an honor.”
For the two professors, Johnston will be using her funding for her research in the development of the Baylor Educator-Scholar Collective. McNair’s research will focus on Antonio Enriquez Gomez’s adaptation of El Cid.
“I have applied for this research funding a few times in the past,” McNair said. “I have been working on this project for over a decade now. In the last couple of years, all of this, the results of the research, is starting to come out in publications.”
The research that McNair is focused on revolves around a Spanish warrior known as El Cid. This character has had multiple media forms take on his story, including the 1961 movie, where Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren co-starred.
McNair’s research isn’t limited to the lab, though. He also brings his findings to the classrooms for students to learn through it as well.
“Almost two decades ago, I did an edition for students of the medieval epic poem on the Cid,” McNair said. “I made it more legible specifically for non-native Spanish speakers with English glosses and historical notes.”
Rachel Olivarez, an academic support coordinator in the religion department, is also a student in the Spanish department, getting her bachelor’s degree.
“This past week, I went to a colloquium where my professor presented her current research, which is about Spanish speakers and how their linguistics can be different and similar in different areas,” Olivarez said.
Even inside the classroom, professors teach their students about what they are working on.
“I think it is great when professors can kind of bring their research into the class,” Olivarez said. “I think that professors sharing their research shows the students what they are working on and how they use skills the class is formed around outside in everyday life.”
