Andrew Ruis of the School of Education’s Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) is one of ten recipients of the 2025 Academic Staff Excellence Award. This annual award recognizes UW–Madison academic staff who have demonstrated excellence in leadership, public service, research, and teaching.
Ruis, the associate director of the Center for Research on Complex Thinking, has contributed to campus through his work as both a researcher and administrator. He helped develop grant management and budgeting systems that improved research efficiency in his lab and at the Center for Research on Complex Thinking. He was involved in founding the center and securing its start-up funding. He also mentors junior scholars on research design, writing, and career development.
As a researcher, Ruis has helped secure more than $17 million in external funding over the past decade. He led the development of iPlan, a learning tool used by more than 7,000 students to study environmental science and land-use decision-making. In 2024, he received a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to lead a project focused on climate change education. He also is a rising star in the international research field of quantitative ethnography.
“Dr. Ruis embodies a professional culture of not chasing awards but focusing instead on doing work that is award-worthy,” said Brendan Eagan, associate director for partnerships at the Center for Research on Complex Thinking.
Read more about all the 2025 award recipients.