Dr. Loida I. Martell, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean, received the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award from La Comunidad of Hispanic Scholars of Religion. La Comunidad President Dr. Lauren F. Guerra presented the award to Dr. Martell during the 2022 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature in Denver, Colo.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is granted to a Latinx scholar who has had an impact on the study of Latinx religions in the Americas, with preference given to scholars of U.S. Latinx religions, or who has demonstrated a commitment to the Latinx scholarly community and the Latinx community at large, as well as to students, teaching or mentoring, social justice advocacy, and an exemplary life. Past awardees include Dr. Justo Gonzalez, Dr. Fernando Segovia, Dr. Eldin Villafañe, Dr. Ana Maria Pineda, Dr. Yolanda Tarango, and Dr. Elizabeth Conde-Frazier.

In her acceptance speech, Dr. Martell thanked the Steering Committee of La Comunidad and especially its president, Dr. Guerra, for the honor. “La Comunidad represents for me a continuous challenge for our guilds that we are called to be community, not isolated silos, and we should always ask the questions, ‘Who is missing? Who have we forgotten? And what can we do better to expand our community?’” she said. “We are called to be prophetic not because it’s easy but because we must.”