The Educational Policy Studies & Practice Department welcomes Dr. Ruth M. López

Dr. Ruth M. López is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership & Policy. She earned her Ph.D. in Educational Foundations, Policy, and Practice at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she was an Ofelia Miramontes Scholar and a recipient of the AERA Minority Dissertation Fellowship. She also holds B.A.s in Mexican American Studies and Spanish at The University of Texas at Austin. She was previously a Senior Research Associate at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University and an Assistant Professor at the University of Houston. Prior to earning her Ph.D., she worked as a college outreach counselor in Houston schools and a program coordinator of the Colorado Diversity Initiative at the University of Colorado Boulder. Dr. López is proud of her multiple identities as the daughter of immigrants from El Salvador and Mexico, first-generation college student/graduate, and mother scholar, to name a few. These identities inform her commitment to educational equity and college access.

In her research, Dr. López addresses the social and political contexts that students of color navigate across K-12 schools and their access to higher education. Her research examines: 1) the intersections of education and immigration policies, 2) culturally responsive education and family engagement, and 3) college access for Latinx and immigrant students. From a theoretical and methodological perspective, her work is informed by Critical Race Theory, Chicana Feminist Epistemology, and Critical Discourse Analysis. At the University of Arizona, Dr. López is interested in engaging in more research about immigration policy and its intersections with education.

Dr. López’s critical pedagogical approaches are founded upon equity-oriented notions of learning that value students’ insights, experiences, and knowledge. In her courses and research mentorship, she provides a critical learning environment where students can self-reflect and explore their educational interests. Through her classes, she aims to help prepare students to enact equity-oriented educational policies and practices.

Dr. López is looking forward to being in community with faculty colleagues, students, and staff, engaging in research collaborations across the College of Education, at the University, and in the Tucson community. She commented, “My family and I have already felt so welcomed and supported and I look forward to helping to foster community as well.”