James Waters, PhD student in Religion, Ethics, and Philosophy, has received a 2020-2021 Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award sponsored by FSU's Program for Instructional Excellence (PIE). He is one of only two students this year in the College of Arts & Sciences, and seven total in the entire University, to have been awarded this outstanding honor. James will also be recognized at FSU's annual Celebration of Graduate Student Excellence.

Joshua Matson, PhD student in Religions of Western Antiquity, has won the 2021 Arts & Humanities Research & Creativity Award in recognition of his outstanding research, publication, and presentation record. Josh will also be recognized at FSU's annual Celebration of Graduate Student Excellence and will be featured in the spring 2021 GradConnection newsletter.

The Department remembered the late Allison Overholt this year by awarding the first Allison Elizabeth Overholt scholarship. Allison was a religion major who died suddenly last February 2019, and this scholarship memorializes her love for the study of Religion by helping to defray the costs of FSU tuition. This year’s scholarship went to Hunter Johnson, who is, among other things, an engaged and engaging major, and a rising senior. She is working on an honor's thesis with Dr. Adam Gaiser that examines material practices surrounding food and the Nation of Islam. In Dr. Laura McTighe's class this past Spring, she was voted Most Likely to Really Really Care and Make Everyone Feel Loved in their end-of-semester superlatives list/all class appreciation. Hunter is also affiliated with SISTUHS, Incorporated, FSU's Black Student Union (in their Seminole Minority Leadership Institute), the Big Sister Little Sister program, as well as the National Organization for Women. So, like Allison, she combines stellar academic work, a strong curiosity about her fellow human beings, and a desire to make a difference outside of a classroom setting.

The Religion Department is pleased to announce that this year’s Betty Phifer award will go to both Hannah Mandatta and Elianna Cooper. Among other things, Hannah Mandatta led Students Organized for Religious and Cultural Exploration (SORCE)—a.k.a. the "Religion Club"—and organized the undergraduate symposiums this year, even in the midst of the pandemic. Elianna Cooper was instrumental in organizing J Street on campus, and was deeply involved in the Department as well. Our academic achievement award will go to Leah Singleton and Jeff Schmoll, both of whom were also involved in SORCE.

The Religion Department congratulates the following graduate student award winners for 2019-2020: 

• Moore Travel Grants (Spring 2020): Taylor Dean, Michael McLaughlin, Nathan Moats; (Fall 2019): Luke Arredondo, Marah Litchford, Jesse Young
• Best Dissertation Award: Luke Arrendondo
• Excellence in Research Award: Amanda Propst
• Porterfield Prize: Tucker Adkins
• Excellence in Teaching: John Cole
• Excellence in Service: Michael McLaughlin

• Sandon Prize, Graduate Student Symposium: Florence Egbeyale for her paper, "Biblical Interpretive Strategy in the Epistle of Barnabas and Justin’s Dialogue with Trypho: A Tool for Policing Christian Identity."