Jane Mt. Pleasant
Associate Professor Emeritus, School of Integrative Plant Science Horticulture Section
In addition to having served as an associate professor in the Horticulture Section, Mt. Pleasant was also affiliated with the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program at Cornell University, with research and teaching responsibilities in both units. Her research focuses on indigenous cropping systems and their productivity. She lectured frequently on indigenous agriculture and its links to contemporary agricultural sustainability, and is considered a national expert in Iroquois agriculture.
Mt. Pleasant (who is of Tuscarora ancestry) first came to Cornell as an undergraduate transfer student in 1977. She was hired as a faculty member after completing her Ph.D. at North Carolina State University to teach in the then Department of Horticulture. In 2005 Mt. Pleasant was chosen by the Smithsonian Institution as one of "35 People Who Made a Difference in the World" for her work as an agricultural scientist. Professor Mt. Pleasant led Cornell's American Indian Program through a reorganization that resulted in the hiring of five jointly-appointed faculty members, which greatly solidified the academic side of the program. In June 2008, she completed two consecutive terms as AIP’s Director. She retired in 2018.
Interests
Indigenous agriculture
Plants and well-being
Contact Information
jm21 [at] cornell.edu
Jane in the news
News
- American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program
- Agriculture
- Development