Jocelyne Pérard ( Tournier; born June 6, 1940) is a French geographer. Her work focuses on tropical climatology, before devoting herself to the link between wine and climate in the context of climate change. President of the University of Burgundy (Dijon) from 1993 to 1998, she has been politically involved in the cultural development of wine in Dijon. 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, 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, Guadeloupe, 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 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 and Cotonou. It was with her thesis director that she initiated the French National Centre for Scientific Research (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 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, 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 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 Commander, Ordre national du Mérite (2015) Officer, Legion of Honour (2009); Knight, Legion of Honour (1997)
Selected works Books
References