Alice L. Laffey

Alice L. Laffey (December 1, 1944 – July 30, 2023) was an American feminist Biblical scholar. From 1981 to 2016, she was a professor at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, where she was head of the religious studies department. She was a member of the congregation of the Sisters of Mercy in the 1970s.

Early life and education Laffey was born in Pittsburgh, the daughter of John J. Laffey and Marion Caveney Laffey. She graduated from Mount Mercy College in 1967, and earned a Master of Divinity degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 1973. In 1981, she became the first woman to earn a Doctorate of Sacred Scripture (D.S.S.) degree from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. Career Laffey taught at the College of the Holy Cross for 35 years, from 1981 to 2016, and introduced courses on feminist, postcolonial and ecological perspectives on theology. She was the first recipient of the college's Marfuggi Award for Academic Advising. She also taught at Hartford Seminary, Boston College, Episcopal Divinity School, St. John's University, the University of San Francisco, and other religious institutions. She raised funds for the founding of the Nativity School in Worcester, a Jesuit-run all-scholarship middle school for boys, and served on the school's board. She was a member of the Catholic Biblical Association, the Society of Biblical Literature, the Catholic Theological Society of America, and the American Academy of Religion.

Publications Laffey's publications were mainly commentaries on Old Testament scriptures, and work on feminist theology. She also regularly reviewed books for the Catholic Biblical Quarterly and Cross-Currents.

Academic articles

Books

Chapters

Online articles

Personal life Laffey died in 2023, at the age of 78.