Lora Walsh, assistant professor of English at the University of Arkansas, has won the 2019 A.R. Pete Diamond Award from the Society of Biblical Literature for her paper "Lost in Revision: Gender Symbolism in Vision 3 and Similitude 9 ofThe Shepherd of Hermas."

With over 8,000 members, the Society of Biblical Literature is the premier scholarly organization committed to the academic study of the Bible. The A.R. Pete Diamond Award for Integrative Scholarship "supports junior scholars demonstrating innovative approaches in biblical studies that advance methodological work at the intersection of historical criticism, critical theory, and cultural studies."

Walsh will present her paper at the society's annual meeting in San Diego this November, with a panel of respondents who are leading experts in early Christian studies. The honor also includes a $1,000 award. 

Walsh's current research examines the resurgence of Lady Church as a prominent feminine divine figure in late medieval and early modern Christian writing. She is also preparing a project on a Middle English translation of Matthew's Gospel.

Walsh's most popular courses at the University of Arkansas have included the Bible as Literature and Women and Christianity.