Laurie Beyranevand, director of the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law and Graduate School, has been named the institution's inaugural Pescosolido Professor of Food and Agricultural Law and Policy.
This five-year term professorship was made possible by a pledge and gift from 1990 law graduate Pamela Pescosolido, whose family has deep roots in farming across the United States. Her mother’s side has owned Blueberry Hill Farm in the Massachusetts Berkshires since 1942, and her father helped to create, along with his partners, a vertically integrated citrus business in California, which included growing, packing and shipping.
Beyranevand has been a part of the VLGS faculty for over a decade. She is known for her dedicated mentorship, innovative teaching methods and commitment to creating equitable and just food and agriculture systems and policies.
“I’m honored to have been awarded this professorship, and I hope to honor the legacy of the Pescosolido family’s strong agricultural heritage,” Beyranevand said. “I see this as a call to advance the future of food and agricultural law and policy through strong education and training of future food system leaders.”