Professor Pruitt Begins Term as President of Rural Sociological Society

Professor Lisa Pruitt receiving a gavel for her term as president of the Rural Sociological Society (RSS), a professional organization dedicated to promoting knowledge about rural people and places and aiming to elevate the quality of life in rural communities.
From left to right, outoing Rural Sociological Society (RSS) President Kenneth Robinson of Clemson University, passing the gavel to incoming RSS President Professor Lisa R. Pruitt. 

UC Davis Law Professor Lisa R. Pruitt has assumed the presidency of the Rural Sociological Society (RSS), a professional organization dedicated to promoting knowledge about rural people and places and aiming to elevate the quality of life in rural communities. Her term leading RSS began at its annual meeting on Aug. 2 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Pruitt is the first legal scholar to serve as president of the organization in its 88-year history. She will deliver the presidential address at the RSS Annual Meeting, set for July 29-Aug. 2, 2026, in Raleigh, N.C., where scholars will gather to share research, build connections, and engage with the issues facing rural communities today.

Distinguished Professor of Law Lisa R. Pruitt is a Brigitte Bodenheimer Research Scholar whose recent work explores the legal relevance of rural spatiality, including how it inflects dimensions of gender, race, and ethnicity. Pruitt's work also considers rural-urban difference in transnational and international contexts. She is the recipient of the law school’s 2020 Distinguished Teaching Award.