Laura J. Gillman, professor of women’s and gender studies in Virginia Tech’s College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, has been conferred the title of professor emerita by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

The emeritus title may be conferred on retired professors, associate professors, and administrative officers who are specially recommended to the board by Virginia Tech President Timothy D. Sands. Nominated individuals who are approved by the board receive an emeritus certificate from the university.

A member of the university community since 1999, Gillman has contributed to the fields of women’s and gender studies and Latina feminisms. She is the author of two major works, “Discovering the Comic in Don Quixote” and “Feminisms Unbound.”

During her time at Virginia Tech, Gillman served as director of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program and helped in the transition of women’s and gender studies to the Department of Sociology.

In the classroom, she taught both undergraduate and graduate courses, including Race, Class, Gender, and Sexualities; Latina Feminisms; Feminist Epistemologies; and Women and Creativity. She also served as a mentor and advisor to many undergraduates.

The College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences honored Gillman with its Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award in 2014 and its Diversity Award in 2005. She was appointed a Dean’s Faculty Fellow from 1999 to 2000.

Gillman received her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, San Diego; a master’s degree from New York University; and a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin.