SBL promotes the academic study of biblical texts to foster the understanding of religion and to cultivate empathy in our diverse world. Resources for teaching biblical studies in a variety of settings, including public schools, are available here and here.

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The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) is committed to the support and professional development of its student members. In affirmation of this support, the Student Advisory Board (SAB, previously the Student Advisory Group) was officially launched at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the Society in Philadelphia, PA. The establishment and ongoing promotion of SAB testifies to the Society’s dedication to fostering student membership and participation in the activities of the Society.

SAB functions as a Board within the Society’s governance structure, and as such is composed of appointed individuals, both student members of the Society and a faculty liaison, who work to advise the SBL Council regarding issues and opportunities relating to student membership and participation in the Society as a whole. SAB also has as its core mandate the coordination of student participation across all Society activities, committees, and programs in an effort to foster opportunities for student participation and leadership development. In order to achieve this mandate, SAB works to encourage student attendance and active participation at regional, national, and international congresses, with a focus on paper presentations and professional skills development; to link SBL student membership to effective, working resources for skills advancement, facilitated through the development and maintenance of communication tools such as a webpage and newsletter (look for it in January 2012!); and to provide support in the development, review and evaluation of SBL policies and procedures as relating to student membership and participation and to make recommendations, where appropriate, to SBL Council on these matters.

Please contact Joshua Paul Smith if you have questions or would like to volunteer to become an On-Campus Student Representative.