Vicki Ruiz, UCI Distinguished Professor Emerita of history and Chicano/Latino studies, has been named a scholar-in-residence by Occidental College’s Institute for the Study of Los Angeles.

“This is an exciting opportunity to work with colleagues and students in a liberal arts community where civic engagement is integral to undergraduate education," she says. "The college’s mission statement reads, in part, ‘The distinctive interdisciplinary and multicultural focus of the college’s academic program seeks to foster both the fulfillment of individual aspirations and a deeply rooted commitment to the public good.’ I am working with a dynamic group of faculty, staff and students to develop programming that highlights why history matters as a methodology, in discourse and as an applied humanities.”

The institute is funded through an Andrew W.  Mellon Foundation grant, with additional support from Howard and Roberta Ahmanson and Occidental College’s Center for Community Based Learning.