Jane Mount Pleasant
Jane Mount Pleasant (born ca. 1950) is an American agricultural scientist and associate professor emerita at Cornell University. Early life and education. Mount Pleasant grew up in Syracuse, New York. Her mother was of European descent, and her father, a factory foreman, was Tuscarora. She briefly studied political science at American University in Washington, D.C., before dropping out and finding work in New York City as a taxi driver and union shop steward. She eventually obtained a master's degree from Cornell University and in 1987 earned a Ph.D. in soil science from North Carolina State University . Career. Mount Pleasant joined the faculty at Cornell in 1987, where she taught horticulture and directed the university's American Indian studies program. Her research focuses on Indigenous techniques for growing corn (maize). Specifically, she has studied the Three Sisters method of growing corn, beans, and squash together to enhance productivity and soil fertility. Publications. Her most cited publications in indigenous agriculture are: Her most cited publications in other agricultural topics are: