Laura Guidry-Grimes’ job might not be the easiest to understand, but the difference her work makes for patients and families going through some of the toughest times of their lives is crystal clear.

Florence Egbeyale is a doctoral student pursuing a degree in religions of Western antiquity through Florida State University's Department of Religion, part of the College of Arts and Sciences. Egbeyale graduated summa cum laude from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, with her bachelor's and master's in 2015 and 2018 respectively. Her research interests focus on the intersections of Judaism and Christianity and include religion’s impact on society and culture. Egbeyale has been published a total of five times since 2018, the most recent of which being published by Bloomsbury Academic and Professional.

Florida State University will welcome a unique, timely and urgent new major to its curriculum this fall when students can begin pursuing an undergraduate degree in Human Rights and Social Justice. The new interdisciplinary major will be based in the Department of Religion and draw from more than 50 courses taught across the university, each connected by human rights content.

Two researchers from Florida State University’s Department of Religion have received a $250,000 grant from the Henry Luce Foundation’s Religion and Theology Program to examine racial justice, Black political activism and religion in the American South and to document, study and challenge structures that drive health disparities in the region.

Elizabeth Cecil is an assistant professor of religion in the Department of Religion, part of Florida State University’s College of Arts and Sciences. She earned her doctorate in 2016 from Brown University, and her research focuses on the history of Hinduism in early South and Southeast Asia, with Sanskrit and Hindi as her primary research languages. Cecil was awarded the 2021-22 Stephen Risley Family Fellowship, which will support research and writing for her second book project, provisionally titled “Natural Wonders: Indigenous Landscapes and the Building of Hinduism in Early Southeast Asia.”

Florida State University’s Department of Religion will host the annual conference of the Southeast Region of the American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature, AAR/SBL, Friday, March 11, through Sunday, March 13.

LaToya Leary is a graduate student pursuing a doctorate in religions of Western antiquity in the Department of Religion, part of Florida State University’s College of Arts and Sciences. After earning dual bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and chemistry, Leary decided to pursue her dream of being a biblical scholar.

Twenty years ago, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks shocked the world. The attacks led to profound changes in American society, two decades of war in Afghanistan and ramifications that continue to be felt today. Florida State University’s nationally regarded experts in emergency management, homeland security, grief, trauma and religion are available to speak to media about the lingering consequences of 9/11.

In 2016, Sam McLoughlin experienced a political awakening. While McLoughlin, a Lake Mary, Fla., native, had cycled through a selection of dream jobs growing up — being a veterinarian, a chef, or a journalist all held appeal — none of them stuck. Political science, however, was a different story.

Claire-Marie Hefner is a postdoctoral scholar in the Florida State University Department of Religion, part of the College of Arts and Sciences.

An assistant professor in the Department of Religion has been awarded the Stephen Risley Family Fellowship for the 2021-22 academic year.

Joshua Matson is a doctoral student in the Florida State University Department of Religion, part of the College of Arts and Sciences.