A UC Irvine history professor will be honored with a National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama next week, the White House announced Thursday.
Vicki Ruiz, who teaches Chicano/Latino studies at the university, will be among 10 honorees from universities across the nation accepting the medal from Obama during a Thursday ceremony.
“We couldn’t be prouder of our very deserving Professor Vicki Ruiz,” said UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman. “She is a first-rate academic, campus leader and tireless researcher of immigrant women’s stories, and these are the kinds of histories we don’t hear often enough. She has so much to teach us.”
Ruiz said she considers the award as recognition of her field of study more than an individual honor.
“When I was a graduate student, I could not begin to imagine all of the stories awaiting interested scholars in public archives and personal memories,” Ruiz said. “That said, I am deeply honored by this once-in-a- lifetime acknowledgement of my work.”
— City News Service