Sheryl Ruzek

Emerita
Social and Behavioral Sciences

Biography

Dr. Sheryl Burt Ruzek, professor emerita, was a founding director of the Risk Communication Lab and the Interdisciplinary Committee on Public Health that led to the formation of the College of Public Health. She holds degrees from the University of California, Davis (medical sociology) and Berkeley (epidemiology). In 1995, Dr. Ruzek was awarded Temple University’s Great Teacher Award. 

Currently, she is researching and writing on the pandemic and completing a book (historical fiction) drawing on public health issues. She has written and/or edited three academic books and published over 100 articles, book chapters and other professional pieces on women’s health issues, medical technology assessment, health communication and medical decision-making. Her research and educational development initiatives have been funded by the NIH National Cancer Institute and the National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute, the CDC, the American International Health Alliance and US Agency for International Development, the US Office of Education, the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education, and state and local health agencies and foundations. 

For many years Dr. Ruzek was editor of the Health, Society and Policy Series for Temple University Press. She also served as acting dean of the Graduate School, founded the Center for Public Health, and was co-director of the Center for Women’s Health Research, Leadership and Advocacy, Office of the Vice President for Research and Strategic Initiatives. She has served as a consultant to the World Health Organization, the FDA, the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, and numerous state health agencies and universities. She has been vice chair/secretary of the board of the ECRI Institute, chair of the board of the Coalition for the Medical Rights of Women, and presented over 150 papers, keynote addresses and invited lectures in the US, Canada and Europe. 

Education

  • PhD, Sociology, University of California–Davis
  • MPH, University of California–Berkeley
  • MA, Sociology, University of California–Davis
  • BA, Sociology, San Francisco State University

Curriculum Vitae

Google Scholar: Sheryl Ruzek's Google Scholar profile