Laurie Beyranevand Awarded Pescosolido Professorship of Food and Agricultural Law and Policy
SOUTH ROYALTON, Vermont (January 28, 2025) — Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS) has announced its first-ever named professorship, the Pescosolido Professorship of Food and Agricultural Law and Policy. This five-year term professorship was made possible by a generous pledge and gift from VLGS alumna Pamela Pescosolido JD’90 and has been awarded to Laurie Beyranevand JD’03, VLGS alumna and director of the school’s Center for Agriculture and Food Systems.
Pescosolido’s family has deep roots in farming across the U.S. 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.
“The ability to navigate agricultural law and policy is critical to the future of this industry,” Pescosolido said. “Vermont Law and Graduate School can have a vital role in educating the attorneys and policymakers that will guide ag-related businesses into the future, and it’s important for the school to continue to attract and retain top-quality professors who are experts in their fields.”
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.
This endowment represents a significant step forward in supporting the school’s commitment to advancing academic excellence in food and agricultural law and policy and developing innovative solutions to global issues.
“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.”
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About Vermont Law and Graduate School: Vermont Law and Graduate School, a private, independent institution, is home to a law school that offers ABA-accredited residential and online hybrid JD programs and a graduate school that offers master’s degrees and certificates in multiple disciplines, including programs offered by the Maverick Lloyd School for the Environment, the Center for Justice Reform and other graduate-level programs emphasizing the intersection of environmental justice, social justice and public policy. Both the law and graduate schools strongly feature experiential clinical and field work learning. For more information, visit vermontlaw.edu, Facebook and Instagram.