Dr. Ruth McRoy, Ruby Lee Piester Centennial Professor Emerita at The University of Texas at Austin’s School of Social Work has been ranked No. 10 on the list “The 30 Most Influential Social Workers Alive Today,” compiled by Social Work Degree Guide.
McRoy also holds the Donahue and DiFelice Endowed Professorship at the Graduate School of Social Work at Boston College. She has been a strong contributor to the field of child welfare for more than three decades, through a wide array of endeavors, from research and writing to teaching and mentoring. Her research focuses on the influence of race in adoptions, racial disparities in the child welfare system, openness in adoption, adoption matching, and family preservation. She conducted the first in-depth longitudinal study assessing the personal and institutional factors that result in prospective adoptive parents navigating their way through the adoption process.
McRoy has received multiple honors and awards throughout her career, most recently the 2013 Children’s Bureau Adoption Excellence Award, and the 2014 Charles I. Wright Distinguished Alumna Award. She is a board member and president of the North American Council on Adoptable Children.