Eileen Crist, associate professor of science, technology, and society in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of associate professor emerita by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

The emerita title may be conferred on retired professors, associate professors, and administrative officers who are specially recommended to the board by Virginia Tech President Tim Sands in recognition of exemplary service to the university. Nominated individuals who are approved by the board receive a copy of the resolution and a certificate of appreciation.

A member of the Virginia Tech community since 1997, Crist has focused her scholarship on environmental theory, with a specialty in the life sciences and society. She is the author of “Abundant Earth: Toward an Ecological Civilization” and “Images of Animals: Anthropomorphism and Animal Mind.” She also coedited five books, including “Keeping the Wild: Against the Domestication of Earth;” “Life on the Brink: Environmentalists Confront Overpopulation”; and “Gaia in Turmoil: Climate Change, Biodepletion, and Earth Ethics in an Age of Crisis.”

Crist also served as assistant editor and editorial board member of five academic journals.

At Virginia Tech, she directed Choices and Challenges, a public outreach project, for 14 years. In addition, she founded and directed the undergraduate degree program in humanities, science, and environment, which awarded 61 bachelor of arts degrees from 2009 to 2017. She also contributed to the graduate program of the Department of Science, Technology, and Society, supervising seven dissertations and serving on 20 Ph.D. committees and 14 master’s degree committees.

Crist earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology and anthropology at Haverford College and her Ph.D. in sociology at Boston University.

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