Elena Ruíz

(She/Her)

ruizele1@msu.edu

FacultyPhilosophyAmerican Indian and Indigenous Studies

Institute Director & Associate Professor
Structural Justice; Gender-based Violence

Biography

Dr. Elena Ruíz (she/her) is the founder and director of the Research Institute for Structural Change (RISC) at Michigan State University. She holds a tenured faculty appointment in philosophy and has affiliations in American Indian and Indigenous Studies, Chicano and Latino Studies, The Research Consortium on Gender-Based Violence, and The Center for Gender in a Global Context at MSU. At RISC, Dr. Ruíz develops social action research programs in coordination with community organizations dedicated to structural change. She serves as an advocate for survivors and has authored dozens of articles in leading journals and publications on gender-based violence and structural oppression. She is the author of Structural Violence (Oxford University Press).

For more information on RISC, visit https://structuralinstitute.org/

University News

Ph.D. Student Honored for Work to Inform Legal Practitioners About Tribal Laws
Published April 16, 2024 in College of Arts & Letters
A picture of a woman with short blonde hair in a black suit standing in front of a leafy background.
While most Michigan-based legal practitioners lack adequate training in Tribal laws, Taylor Elyse Mills, a sixth-year doctoral candidate in Philosophy at Michigan State University and graduate of…Read now »
Philosophy Professor Recognized for Anti-Violence Research
Published June 25, 2020 in College of Arts & Letters
a women with long hair wearing a dress with a black blazer
Elena Ruíz’s anti-violence research has attracted the interest and support of advocacy organizations and philanthropic groups world-wide, including the Me Too Movement…Read now »
College Welcomes New Faculty
Published September 9, 2016 in College of Arts & Letters
side of a building
This fall, the College of Arts & Letters welcomes many new faculty members, including 11 who are either tenured or in the tenure system. Those faculty members include: Cara…Read now »