Dr. Ruzita obtained her B. Economics (Hons.) from the IIUM, her M.A. (Economics) from Northwestern University, USA, and her Ph.D. (Managerial Economics), from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA. She has served at the IIUM since 1987, and currently she is a Professor at the Department of Economics, IIUM. She was Deputy Dean (Academic) of the Kulliyyah of Economics & Management Sciences from 2005 to 2007 and currently she is the Head of the Disability Services Unit, IIUM, since 2012. She was Editor of the IIUM Journal of Economics & Management (currently known as the International Journal of Economics, Management & Accounting) for the periods 1995-2004 and 2008-2011.
Her research interests include disability studies, social economics, development economics, economic integration, and economic theory from the Islamic perspective. Among her research projects include “The Formulation and Application of an Integrated Development Index (I-Dex) based on Maqasid al-Shari’ah as a New Comprehensive Approach to Measuring Human Development”, funded by the Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), “Understanding National Implementation of the UN CRPD in Malaysia: A Two-Phased, Mixed Methods Approach,” in collaboration with the Institute of Disability & Public Policy, American University, USA, and the University of Malaya, and “Kajian Peluang Pekerjaan Orang Kurang Upaya di Malaysia,” commissioned by the Ministry of Women, Family & Community Development (MWFCD). In February 2022, she was appointed as one of the Panel of Experts in Modeling the Design for the Teaching and Learning of the Qur’an for Persons with Disabilities, under the Ibnu Ummi Maktum Consortium for Research Excellence comprising of Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) dan Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Selangor (KUIS).
She was presented with the Special Award (for Academic Achievement) for Persons with Disabilities in Conjunction with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, by the MWFCD, Malaysia, for the Year 2012. She also received the IIUM Alumni Icon Award during the IIUM Takrim 2021, and the Leadership Award (Academic), from the Kulliyyah of Economics & Management Sciences, IIUM, in 2022.
She was a Member of the National Council of the Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD), under the MWFCD from January 2013 to December 2016. During her term, in August 2014, she was appointed as the Co-Chairman of the Committee on Universal Design and the Built Environment of the NCPWD. She is still currently a member of the same Committee as well as the Registration of Persons with Disabilities Committee and the Employment Committee of the NCPWD. She was also involved as a member of the Working Group on Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities, under the Engineering Standards Management & Consulting Services Section, Standards Research and Management Centre, SIRIM Berhad.
She was appointed as a member of the National Education Advisory Council, Ministry of Education, for the term 2018-2020, tasked to look into disability inclusion at all levels of education. During her term, she co-chaired the Sub-Committee to develop the Guidelines for the Implementation of Disability Inclusion Policy in Higher Learning Institutions, which was subsequently launched by the Ministry of Higher Education in 2019. In August 2020, she was appointed as a Member of the Advisory Panel to YB Datuk Senator Ras Adiba Radzi, Representative of Persons with Disabilities in the Upper House, Parliament of Malaysia.
