Researchers from across the country are exploring the intersections of women, foodways, culture and environmental sustainability through a new fellowship program.
UT San Antonio Special Collections selected eight researchers for the inaugural Diana Kennedy Foundation Fellowships for Research on Women in Food and Sustainability, funded by the Diana Kennedy Foundation.
Together, the fellows represent a range of disciplines, perspectives and research interests, demonstrating the breadth of scholarship that can emerge from the Diana Kennedy Collection and the broader Mexican Cookbook Collection.
The inaugural call for applications generated more than 20 applications from researchers interested in exploring these themes through UT San Antonio’s distinctive collections.
Four recipients were awarded week-long fellowships, three received month-long fellowships, and one was awarded a four-month fellowship.
The fellowship program honors renowned food journalist Diana Kennedy. In 2019, Special Collections acquired the papers of Kennedy as well as her collection of 19th-century Mexican cookbooks. The program supports research and practical applications that reflect the values that guided Kennedy’s work:
- Cultural preservation through responsible documentation
- Profound respect for Indigenous knowledge
- Environmental stewardship rooted in sustainability and ecological responsibility
- Fair treatment, education and empowerment for women and children
- Culinary integrity grounded in tradition, regional identity and authenticity
- Education and research to deepen public understanding of traditional foodways
In addition to the fellowships, Special Collections also announced the first recipients of the Diana Kennedy Foundation Faculty Teaching in the Archives Grants. Two UT San Antonio faculty members have been awarded $5,000 grants to incorporate Diana Kennedy’s papers and research library into their teaching.
While UT San Antonio faculty were not eligible for the research fellowships, the Faculty Teaching in the Archives Grants provided an opportunity for faculty to engage students with the Diana Kennedy Collection and other Special Collections resources in the classroom.
2026–27 Diana Kennedy Foundation fellows
Bonnie Cisneros
Educator, essayist, curator, DJ Despeinada, and editor at Bisnieta Press.
Project: La Salsa que Se Sabe
Manny Esquivel
San Antonio ISD
Project: Seeds of Memory: Foodways, Women and The Urban Farm
Pilar Egüez Guevara, PhD
Mount Holyoke University
Project: Traces of Al-Andalus in Mexican Foodways: Women’s Recipe Archives, Ingredients, and Culinary Memory
Vanesa Miseres, PhD
University of Notre Dame
Project: Plant Eaters: The Origins and Evolution of Modern Vegetarianism in Latin America (1900–Present)
Vanessa Moreno Wilcox, PhD
University of California Santa Cruz
Project: Exploring P’urhépecha Foodways and Michoacána Regional Cuisine
Rachel Rabbani
Food Systems San Antonio
Project: Before Plastic Wrap: Material Culture in the Diana Kennedy Collection
Sandra Aguilar Rodriguez, PhD
Moravian University
Cooking Mexico: Race, Class, and Gender after the Mexican Revolution
Luna Vela
Neighborhood Molino
Project: Ven a Moler: Archival Research into Mexican Foodways, Regional Cal Production, and a New Neighborhood Molino in San Antonio
Faculty Teaching in the Archives Grants
Ali Atabey, PhD
History, UT San Antonio
HIS 3683 History of Food and Foodways
Lilliana Saldaña, PhD
Mexican American Studies, UT San Antonio
MAS 3423 Mexican American Foodways: Recipes for Justice, Health, and Liberation
