Olyan’s current research focuses on animals and the law, biblical ritual, biblical classification schemas and the representation of social relationships in biblical texts. He is the author of 10 books, the editor or co-editor of 14 collections of essays and the author of more than 90 articles and essays. Olyan has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Biblical Literature, the Journal of the History of Sexuality, the Journal of Hebrew Scriptures and the Anchor Yale Bible. He was president of the New England and Eastern Canada region of the Society of Biblical Literature in 2016 and has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, among other institutions.

Induction ceremonies for new members will take place in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in October 2026.

To learn more about this honor, see the Brown New Item from April 2026.