Faculty

Laura Ruel

Associate Professor

Carroll 212

Office hours: W 9:30 to 11 a.m. or by appointment

lruel@unc.edu

919.448.8864

Laura Ruel is an associate professor of UX and graphic design at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, where she has been teaching and conducting applied research for two decades.

Her applied research bridges academia and industry, addressing real-world challenges faced by UI and UX design practitioners. She incorporates eye tracking methods into her usability investigations, providing valuable insights into user behavior.

Ruel’s work has been presented at a large number of industry conferences including the User Experience Professionals Association, the Association for Information Science & Technology,  Google I/O Extended, the Society for News Design and the Online News Association.

She is passionate about creating an informed public and enhancing user knowledge and experience through effective design and communication. She also is an advocate for diversity and inclusion in the tech industry, a member of professional organizations, including Women in Tech, and a supporter of Code2040.

She is the 2015 recipient of the Edward Vick Prize for Innovation in Teaching, the 2020 recipient of the Richard Cole Service Award and the 2022 recipient of the David Brinkley Teaching Excellence Award. Her reporting, design and multimedia production work has been recognized at the South by Southwest Interactive Awards, Emmy Awards, Horizon Interactive Awards and many others.

Ruel holds an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and has more than 15 years of experience in the journalism and media industries, working at news organizations such as the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Omaha World Herald and the Denver Rocky Mountain News.

Education