IRVINE, Calif.
Dr. Vicki L. Ruiz, a University of California/Irvine historian specializing in Chicano/Latino studies, has been named dean of the UCI School of Humanities.
The UC Regents confirmed Ruiz's appointment March 19 at their meeting at UC San Francisco.
Ruiz, 52, will lead a school with more than 2,600 students and 180 faculty members.
“Professor Ruiz is a pioneer in her field and has spent her entire career breaking down barriers for Latinos in academia,” UCI Chancellor Michael V. Drake said. “She has an impressive record in scholarly and administrative roles and will lead the School of Humanities to the next level of excellence.”
Commenting on her appointment, Ruiz said, the school “has a distinguished reputation for both its global research and community connections…I prize the diversity in excellence that characterizes the school and share with colleagues an unflagging commitment to promoting dynamic, imaginative collaborations.”
A professor of history and Chicano/Latino studies, Ruiz joined the UCI faculty in 2001. She has served as chair of the history department and as director of the K-12 outreach programs Humanities Out There and the UCI History Project.
Ruiz's research encompasses 20th century U.S. history, Chicano/Latino history through oral narratives, gender studies, labor and immigration. She is best known for her two monographs Cannery Women, Cannery Lives and From Out of the Shadows: Mexican Women in Twentieth Century America.
In 2006 she co-edited Latinas in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia, a three-volume set with more than 600 entries and 300 photographs. She was the first Latina president of both the Organization of American Historians and the American Studies Association. She is a fellow of the Society of American Historians and a member of the national advisory board for the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
