Jocelyne Pérard ( Tournier; born June 6, 1940) is a French geographer. Her work focuses on

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

climatology Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "slope"; and , '' -logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. Climate concerns the atmospher ...

, before devoting herself to the link between wine and climate in the context of

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

. President of the University of Burgundy (

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

) from 1993 to 1998, she has been politically involved in the cultural development of wine in

. Her work and commitment have been rewarded with numerous distinctions.

Biography

Jocelyne Tournier was born in Couternon, 1940. Her parents were of modest origin, her mother was a cleaning lady at the University of Burgundy and her grandparents were farmers, a milieu which she believes is the origin of her sensitivity to the land and to nature.« Jocelyne Pérard, du climat aux climats », ''Le grand Dijon'', no. 33, February 2014, p. 24. Although she wanted to become an

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

, not having learned Greek, she turned to geography.Frank Mauerhan, « La dame de Bourgogne », ''Le Point'', no. 1282, 12 April 1997, p. 18. She studied at the University of Burgundy where she was awarded the prize for the best geography student in 1962. In 1963, her graduate degree was entitled (Commercialization of dairy products in the Dijon region). After receiving her '' Agrégée'' in geography, she left to teach high school in

Pointe-à-Pitre Pointe-à-Pitre (; , , or simply , ) is the second most populous commune of Guadeloupe (after Les Abymes). Guadeloupe is an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in the Lesser Antilles, of which it is a ''Subprefectu ...

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...

, which led her to develop a passion for the tropical climate. She obtained her doctorate in 1984, entitled (Research on the climates of the

Malay Archipelago The Malay Archipelago is the archipelago between Mainland Southeast Asia and Australia, and is also called Insulindia or the Indo-Australian Archipelago. The name was taken from the 19th-century European concept of a Malay race, later based ...

: the Philippines) under the direction of climatologist Pierre Pagney. At the time, there were no climatological databases, which made it difficult for Perard to do her research in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

and

Cotonou Cotonou (; ) is the largest city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The city lies ...

. It was with her thesis director that she initiated the

French National Centre for Scientific Research The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 engi ...

(CNRS) at the University of Burgundy, which was very active in France in her discipline, and which she directed for a time. Pérard was elected president of the University of Burgundy from 1993 to 1998.« Au programme, les examens, l'anonymat et l'évaluation », ''Libération'', 13 October 1997, p. 20. "Paul Quino, « Allègre: "J'applique un boycott personnel". », ''Libération'', 10 June 1998, p. 19. At the time, she was one of the three women presidents of universities in France. Her term of office was marked by reforms in higher education, the Bayrou reform on examinations, and by changes in the policies of regional universities.« Université de Bourgogne : les antennes délocalisées n'ont plus le vent en poupe », ''Les Échos'', 19 June 1997. Brigitte Perucca, « L'université de Bourgogne d'accord pour " un esprit solidaire " », ''Les Echos'', 20 November 1995. "Paul Quinio, « A Dijon, un semestre de fac à l'essai. Les étudiants auront désormais la possibilité de se réorienter fin février. », ''Libération'', 13 October 1997, p. 20. At the end of her career, she was a professor of geography at this university. Pérard was named professor ''

emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

'' in 2015.« Les femmes, les hommes et les pouvoirs », ''Bulletin Quotidien'', 23 November 2015. She humorously mentioned in 2019 that wanting to be a

winemaker A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to de ...

, she became an academic, as the University of Burgundy owns a vineyard in Marsannay-la-Côte. Approved in 2007, Pérard created and held the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Chair (Culture and traditions of wine) at the University of Burgundy. It was the fourteenth in France, but original at the international level by the uniqueness of its subject, wine being spread all over the globe.« L'université reçoit l'homologation de l'Unesco », ''Le Bien Public'', 16 September 2007. « Une chaire Unesco « Vin et culture » à l'université », ''Le Bien Public'', 26 September 2006. « Jocelyne Pérard : L'ancienne présidente de l'université de Bourgogne sera nommée en septembre titulaire de la chaire Vin et Culture, créée par l'Unesco. Une première mondiale. », ''Le Point'', 24 August 2006. The chair studies the entire wine chain, from the vine to tasting, from a multidisciplinary perspective14.Isabelle Fougere, « De la science au culte », ''Le Figaro Magazine'', no. 19705, 8 December 2007. After losing its label in 2023, in 2024 the Chair, still directed by Jocelyne Pérard in collaboration with Marielle Adrian, became the UNESCO Chair "Cultures and Traditions of Wine" at the University of Burgundy.

Awards and honours

* Honorary doctorate, Johannes-Gutenberg University of Mainz * Medal of honor from the city of Couternon * Prize of the International Organization of Vine and Wine for Wine and Gastronomy« Les gens : Jocelyne Pérard et Olivier Jacquet », ''L'Histoire'', no. 477, 1 November 2020, p. 8. * Commander, Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin * Commander,

Ordre des Palmes académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...

* Commander,

Ordre national du Mérite The (; ) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ...

(2015) * Officer,

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(2009); Knight, Legion of Honour (1997)

Selected works

Books

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perard, Jocelyne 1940 births Living people French geographers French climatologists People from Côte-d'Or Women geographers University of Burgundy Officers of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Legion of Honour