2017-2018 Faculty Recognition

July 31, 2018

Each spring, professors are honored for excellence in the classroom, through scholarship and in the lives of students.


Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year

C. Stephen Evans
Dr. C. Stephen Evans, University Professor of Philosophy and Humanities, director of the Baylor Center for Christian Philosophy and Distinguished Senior Fellow in the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University, has been named the 2018 Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year.
The award, presented annually during the Academic Honors Convocation, recognizes a Baylor faculty member who makes a superlative contribution to the learning environment at Baylor in the areas of teaching, which is judged to be of the highest order of intellectual acumen and pedagogical effectiveness; research, which is recognized as outstanding by the national and/or international and local community of scholars; and service, which is regarded as exemplary in building the character of intellectual community at Baylor.
“Dr. Evans’ scholarship and service has represented Baylor in an exemplary way to the local, national, and international community. But at Baylor, as we all know, it is of paramount importance that our faculty contribute to their students’ lives in deep and lasting ways, and it is very clear that he has applied his considerable scholarly prowess to this endeavor,” said Dr. James Bennighof, vice provost for academic affairs and policy at Baylor.
“I know of no other university or college, at least within the Protestant world, that shares Baylor’s mission to be a first-class university in which Christian faith undergirds and permeates all that we do. That unique mission has attracted a stellar student body, including the great students present here today, and a first-class faculty,” Evans said. “I have loved my students here, both undergraduates and graduates, and I have had amazing colleagues.”
Evans has authored 18 books, five of which were published by Oxford University Press or Cambridge University Press. He has published more than 100 scholarly and review articles in the philosophy of religion and the human sciences. His books have won several awards, including the 2012 C.S. Lewis Book Prize.

Baylor Centennial Professors

Beth Allison Barr, Rishi Sriram and Angela Reed
Created by the Baylor Centennial Class of 1945, this award provides tenured professors with funding for research projects to aid with more in-depth study in their respective fields. This year’s recipients are Dr. Beth Allison Barr, associate professor and graduate program director in history; Dr. Rishi Sriram, associate professor of educational leadership; and Dr. Angela Reed, associate professor of practical theology and director of spiritual formation at George W. Truett Theological Seminary.
Barr will use the grant to complete her book, Women in English Sermons, while teaching her graduate students to use sermons effectively as historical sources. Funding also will be used to purchase digitized microfilms for research and teaching comprehension of paleography.
“I plan to use this different archival experience to further develop the syllabus for my graduate Archival Research and Grant Writing course, which is designed to better prepare graduate students for working in the archives,” Barr said.
Sriram will travel to Elon University in North Carolina to attend a seminar on Residential Learning Communities (RLCs) with the goal of publishing three peer-reviewed journal articles. These articles will focus on ways to increase access to residential communities, how faculty and staff can contribute while balancing other responsibilities and how these communities shape and are shaped by institutional culture.
“My research continues to demonstrate the powerful ways that residential learning communities shape the student experience and lead to positive student outcomes,” Sriram said. “I think this is an area in which Baylor has the potential to be a national leader.”
Reed will use the grant for trips to visit eight congregations and to interview 24 ministers. She plans to use these visits to shape curricula of spiritual formation and discipleship at Truett Seminary. Reed engages in research and writing in prayer and formation with special attention to spiritual guidance relationships. Her current study will focus on the effective use of prayer in pastoral work.
“Many seminaries have neglected the teaching of prayer in ministry, which may lead to ambiguity about the language and practice of prayer in pastoral work,” Reed said. “This will have implications for training our students to provide spiritual care through the resident chaplaincy and spiritual direction programs serving undergraduates at Baylor University.”

The Collins Outstanding Professor

Rebecca Flavin
The Collins Outstanding Professor program was funded in 1994 by the Carr P. Collins Foundation to honor outstanding teachers at Baylor University. Recipients are chosen annually by a senior class vote, receive a cash award and deliver an open lecture on Baylor's campus.
Dr. Rebecca McCumbers Flavin earned her Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Notre Dame, and her B.A. from Wheeling Jesuit University. She is a senior lecturer in political science and teaches courses across the discipline, including American Constitutional Development, American Constitutional Law, Model United Nations, Politics and Religion, and Introduction to Western Political Philosophy.
Dr. McCumbers Flavin’s research is in the history of political thought, with an emphasis on politics and religion, and she is currently working on a book about political and religious reform in the thought of Niccolo Machiavelli and Girolamo Savonarola.
She serves as an advisor for Baylor Model United Nations team, and in her free time enjoys traveling with her husband, Pat, who is also a Baylor University faculty member.

Outstanding Professors for 2017-2018

These awards recognize the best all-around professors based upon teaching capabilities, research achievement, effective committee service, time spent with students and civic and church involvement, including non-tenure track, tenured and tenure-track faculty.
Teaching

David Corey Professor, Political Science, Honors College
Jeff Donahoo Professor, Computer Science, School of Engineering and Computer Science
Karol Hardin Professor, Spanish, College of Arts and Sciences
John Miller Senior Lecturer, Electrical & Computer Engineering, School of Engineering and Computer Science
Linda J. Olafsen Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering, School of Engineering and Computer Science
Rachelle D. Rogers Clinical Assistant Professor, Education, School of Education
Contributions to the Academic Community

John B. White Associate Professor, Truett Seminary
Scholarship

Seung Kim Associate Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering, School of Engineering and Computer Science
Peter G. Klein Professor, Department of Entrepreneurship, Hankamer School of Business
Bruce Longenecker Professor, Department of Religion, College of Arts and Sciences
Robin Wallace Professor, Musicology, School of Music