Teofilo F. Ruiz

---

“We must love what we do and love those we teach,” says History Professor Teofilo Ruiz, explaining his teaching philosophy. He believes that this philosophy is critical to fostering students’ intellectual independence and ability to think critically about their education. His students emphatically endorse his deep commitment to teaching. One student writes, “Teo is the most exceptional professor I have had at UCLA. He is warm, well-spoken and teaches life along with his history.”

Ruiz earned his master’s from New York University and doctorate from Princeton University. He has taught at several universities, including the City University of New York Graduate Center and Brooklyn College, and he was visiting professor at the University of Michigan. Since arriving at UCLA in 1998, he has served as UCLA History Department chair, 2002-05, and has taught thousands of students in courses ranging from an Introduction to Western Civilization to Medieval and Early Modern Europe.

He earned his reputation as a great teacher prior to arriving at UCLA. In 1995, he was honored as the Outstanding Teacher of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and in 1997 was the 250th Anniversary Visiting Professor for Distinguished Teaching at Princeton University.

He has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and in 2007, the prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. A scholar of the social and popular culture of late medieval and early modern Castile, Ruiz currently is completing two books, A Reflection on the Terror of History, and a yet-to-be titled book on festivals in late medieval and early modern Spain.

Ruiz’s inimitable passion and positive energy is felt throughout the academic community. He has given many public lectures to student groups and alumni, and he is currently working on projects sponsored by the American Historical Association to advance the study of world history at middle schools and high schools. In addition, he has worked with teachers on developing K-12 history curricula for California schools.

“At the end,” Ruiz says, “to be truly human is to teach and be taught.”