July 25, 2008

By Marissa Fessenden

Professor Eric Cheyfitz, the Ernest I. White Professor of American Studies and Humane Letters at Cornell University, has been named director of the American Indian Program (AIP). He succeeds associate professor Jane Mt. Pleasant who served in this role from 1995 to 1999, and, again, from 2002 to 2008. Cheyfitz’s appointment was effective July 1, 2008.

Cheyfitz says his vision for the AIP has been and will be formed over time by the collective vision of his colleagues in the program—faculty, staff, and students.

“There is a consensus among us that the American Indian Program should continue to increase its visibility here at Cornell, nationally and internationally,” Cheyfitz said. “Given Cornell’s stated interest in diversity and sustainability issues, as well as the importance of these issues to the world at large, the AIP has a lot to contribute in informing these matters—in the courses we offer, the research we do, and the outreach opportunities we provide.”

Cheyfitz would like to continue the tradition of interdisciplinary study that the AIP offers by encouraging increased enrollment across campus in American Indian classes and involvement in outreach programs. “Because of Cornell’s location in Haudenosaunee country, we want to continue to strengthen our fine Iroquois studies program as well as develop AIP's academic and socio-cultural interests in a range of Native communities in the Americas” he said.

Cheyfitz earned his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland. Prior to his appointment at Cornell, he was a professor of English sequentially at Georgetown University, Southern Methodist University, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Cheyfitz’s publications have received wide recognition for their contribution to understanding American Indian traditions, identity, and literature, particularly in their relationship to federal Indian law.

At Cornell, Cheyfitz has been a member of the Faculty Senate Committee on Governance, and the Provost’s Committee on Race and Ethnicity.

The administration at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, where AIP resides, specified that the next AIP director be a senior member of the current Cornell faculty.

“Jane Mt. Pleasant is leaving the AIP with a strong, stable foundation on which to build,” said Susan A. Henry, the Ronald P. Lynch Dean of Agriculture and Life Sciences.  “Under Jane’s leadership, the rigor of AIP courses has improved and the program has made important strides in student support, academics, and outreach. I am pleased that she will be continuing as an active member of the program faculty through her research and teaching.”

Mt. Pleasant’s research focuses on indigenous cropping systems and plants and human well being. She lectures frequently on indigenous agriculture and its links to contemporary agricultural sustainability. She is considered a national expert in Iroquois agriculture.

Among Mt. Pleasant’s most notable accomplishments is the hiring of jointly appointed faculty in several academic departments, including anthropology, art, education, history of art, and natural resources. Coupled with AIP-associated active faculty in other academic departments such as development sociology, earth and atmospheric sciences, english, history, horticulture, and the Cornell Law School, the academic reach and collaborative disciplinary involvement of the AIP expanded tremendously under Mt. Pleasant’s leadership.

Formally established in 1982, the Cornell AIP offers an undergraduate and graduate minor, about 20 courses, and extensive recruitment and support services for Native students.

The program recruits Native students from all walks of life, both those living on and off reservations. "We recruit highly qualified students,” said Mt. Pleasant, “and devote a lot of staff time to individual counseling, as well as a lot of cultural, social, and academic programming."

“The AIP is on a stable, forward-looking foundation today because of Jane Mt. Pleasant’s leadership,” Cheyfitz said, “I look forward to working to continue building the program with faculty, staff and students, whom I have come to admire for their intellectual acuity, their integrity and their sense of community.”

Marissa Fessenden '09 is a writer intern at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

 

 

Related Links

American Indian Program