Oral History Interview, Andrew Ruis (2494)

Abstract

In his two 2025 interviews, Academic Staff Award winner Andrew Ruis reflects on his 20+ years spent at UW-Madison. Ruis attended UW in the early 2000’s as a graduate student in the History of Science Department, and then found a job with the Wisconsin Center for Education Research where he has worked since, assuming grant writing, researching, and administrative/leadership positions. He describes the role of the WCER, which houses grant-funded research for the School of Education. He describes the diversity of scale and type of research conducted, providing examples of studies on curriculum, teacher training, and cognitive learning processes. Ruiz describes the role of and his work in the Center for Research on Complex Thinking, a sub-center of the WCER, and its role in analyzing quantitative ethnography. He mentions people and groups he collaborates with in CRCT. He describes his typical day, the satisfaction he finds in his work, COVID, the changes in technology he’s witnessed throughout his time at WCER, faculty-staff relationships, and the process of being nominated for the award. In his second interview session, Ruiz describes the History of Science department as close-knit, well run department. He recalls becoming a TA, the challenges of learning effective teaching methods, and inspiration he drew from the notable historian David Lindberg. He also describes his dissertation on the origins and history of school lunch programs, which he found to be a fascinating intersection of public health, nutrition, politics, and education. He recalls his involvement in the ACT 10 protests and shares his thoughts on current federal research funding cuts and their implications for his work. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Academic Staff Award Winners Projects to be housed in the UW-Madison Archives and Records Management Oral History Program.