Dorothy Smith-Ruiz, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Garinger 130
704-687-2367

***Dr. Ruiz is on leave until June 1, 2010**

Dr. Dorothy Smith-Ruiz is an Associate Professor in the Africana Studies Department and adjunct professor in the Department of Socioloty.  Dr. Ruiz has completed two NIA postdoctoral fellowships; one at the Yale University School of Epidemiology and Public Health (1981-1983), and the other at Duke University Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development (1998-2001).  As a Fulbright Scholar, she traveled to Sierra Leone, Liberia and Senegal to study their political and economic problems. 

Education:
• Ph.D., Michigan State University

• M.A., Michigan State University

• B.A., Fort Valley State University

Areas of Interest:
• Coping and caregiving among African-American grandmothers with specific emphasis on caring for children with health issues and whose parents are incarcerated.

• Physical health, depression, stress and life satisfaction in relation to custodial caregiving

• Impact of mental health and mental disorder in African-American populations. 

Recent Publications:
Amazing Grace:  African American Grandmothers as Caregivers and Conveyers of Traditional Values (Praeger, 2004)

The Handbook of Mental Health and Mental Disorder Among Black Americans (Greenwood, 1991)

Current Projects:
Transnational families; African-American grandmothers in the 21st century; permanent role transition and altered family structure; grandparent caregiving for children and youth with chronic disease; the impact of incarceration on family caregiving for minor children.

Courses Taught:
• Majority/Minority Relations

• Sociology of Aging

• Black Families in the United States

• Introduction to Africana Studies

• Black Families in the Diaspora

• Values in Racial Perspectives

• Introduction to Human Relations