Center for the Environment

Dr. Virginia Pleasant, who received her PhD in American Studies in May, was recently selected to represent Purdue in the national CGS/ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award competition. These awards are given annually to individuals who have completed dissertations that, in the eyes of the award committee, represent original work and make a significant contribution to the discipline. Pleasant’s dissertation, directed by the Center for the Environment’s former associate director, professor Laura Zanotti (ANTH), is titled “There’s More than Corn in Indiana: Smallholder and Alternative Farmers as a Locus of Resistance.”