UC Merced Lecturer Honored for New Book on Pedagogy

Iris D. Ruiz, a lecturer with UC Merced, won an Honorable Mention for the 2018 Conference on College Composition and Communication Outstanding Book Award.

Ruiz’s award is in the Monograph category for her book “Reclaiming Composition for Chicano/as and Other Ethnic Minorities: A Critical History and Pedagogy.” The CCCC is a constituent organization within the National Council of Teachers of English.

This award honors books within the field of composition and rhetoric. Single and multiple authored books, as well as edited volumes, are evaluated for scholarship and research in the areas of pedagogy, practice, history and theory that have informed the work of past award recipients.

Ruiz is a lecturer with continuing appointment in the Karen Merritt Writing Program, the faculty coordinator of the UC Merced Undergraduate Research Journal and the co-chair of the CCCC Latinx Caucus.

Her award was announced March 16 during the 2018 CCCC Annual Convention in Kansas City, Mo.

Grad Student Selected as Delta Science Fellow

Doctoral student Stefanie Helmrich was awarded the Delta Science Fellowship, UC Merced’s first ever recipient of the prestigious award. Helmrich received one of nine fellowships awarded this year by the state’s Delta Stewardship Council. The award provides Helmrich with just over $150,000 in funding, including two years of research funding at $33,000 per year plus additional funds for tuition and travel expenses.

The Delta Science Fellowship program was established to provide graduate students and postdoctoral researchers with support to pursue research on topics relevant to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Fellowships are awarded on the basis of the intellectual merit of the application and the applicant’s expected contribution to knowledge that will advance the understanding of delta environments and water systems. The research is expected to aid policymakers and resource managers concerned with water issues in California.

Working under the supervision of Professor Peggy O’Day and community mentor Charles Alpers of the U.S. Geological Survey, Helmrich will study methylmercury — the most toxic form of mercury — and how it forms in aquatic environments and how it makes its way from sediment to water.

“Methylmercury is a contaminant in many streams, rivers and wetlands in California, the United States and around the world,” Helmrich said. “My research is part of the efforts to reduce concentrations by managing lakes, reservoirs, and wetlands. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to have a good understanding of these systems and develop computer models that can predict the outcome of management strategies.”

This story was originally published March 29, 2018 at 2:34 PM with the headline "UC Merced Lecturer Honored for New Book on Pedagogy."