Instructor Jeanette Ruiz to Join Academic Senate Faculty
A popular instructor, Ruiz worked for nearly a decade in corporate communications in the finance and healthcare industries before pursuing her doctorate.
Expertise on the anti-vaxxer movement
Her research focuses on two areas — public health communication and the Internet. She examines media advocacy campaigns in public health and has used network analysis and other methods to examine parental opposition to childhood vaccination. She also has focused on the globalization, structure and ownership concentration of the international Internet.
Her findings have been presented at national and international conferences and appeared in journals such as Vaccine, Social Network Analysis and Mining, System Sciences, and the Journal of International Communication.
Teaching Excellence
Dr. Ruiz was the founding instructor of one the department’s newest and most popular classes, Strategic Communication in Public Relations (CMN 131). She also teaches courses in research methods (CMN 102) and mass communication (CMN 140). She has a special interest in helping minority students navigate academia and develop plans for successful careers in business.
“In just one year as a lecturer, Dr. Ruiz has developed quite a following among UC Davis communication majors,” said department Chair Robert Bell. “She is appreciated for her ability to merge theoretical principles of communication with corporate communication practices.”
Dr. Ruiz was twice nominated for teaching excellence while a graduate student in the Department of Communication at UC Davis, and Bell said she continues to receive great student reviews.
In addition to her doctorate from UC Davis, she has a master’s degree in communication from Sacramento State University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in rhetoric and communication from UC Davis.
Her new position as lecturer PSOE is effective June 30. Lecturer PSOE is a new title on campus that brings to departments active researchers who have unique expertise in pedagogy.