Dr. Ruby Mendenhall

Biography

Ruby Mendenhall is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with a focus on social inequality throughout the life course and the role of public policy in facilitating social economic mobility. Her research integrates quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze administrative welfare employment data, census data, and in-depth interviews. A significant aspect of her work examines the Gautreaux Assisted Housing Program in Chicago, one of the nation's largest desegregation efforts, and multi-site research on the use of the Earned Income Tax Credit by low- to moderate-income families in Champaign and Boston. She received her Ph.D. in Human Development and Social Policy from Northwestern University, where her dissertation explored the role of neighborhoods and networks in the economic independence of Black women. Mendenhall holds additional appointments including the Kathryn Lee Baynes Dallenbach Professorship and affiliations with various institutes focusing on genomic biology and health innovation.

Research Interests