FPG People
Iheoma Iruka, Ph.D.
Investigator
iruka@unc.edu
PH: 919.843.8085
FAX: 919.966.7532
Mailing Address:
Campus Box 8180
The University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8180
Iheoma U. Iruka, Ph.D. is an Investigator at FPG Child Development Institute at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Iruka’s research centers on low-income and ethnic minority children’s school readiness and academic and social success; and the role of the family and early care and education environment in this process. Dr. Iruka is engaged in several projects focused on parenting practices and the home and early education environment and their influence on at-risk children’s optimal development. She has publications focused on parenting behaviors and competencies most advantageous for at-risk children’s development.
Iruka is co-director of an evaluation of the Smart Start Family Support and Health Grant Options, focused on enhancing preschool programs’ nutrition and physical activity practices, increasing and supporting parents’ book-reading activities, and promoting positive parenting behaviors. She is also an investigator for a project evaluating Miami-Dade County’s Quality Rating System for child care programs. She provides consultation and technical assistance to schools and communities across the state of North Carolina focused on improving the academic and social success of at-risk children, particularly African Americans through Ready Schools North Carolina, an initiative to align pre-k to third grade to ensure success for all children.
She is a Steering Committee Member for Women of Color in the Academy at UNC. This committee provides insight to the UNC Diversity Program for ways to create a program for connecting ethnic minority women with networking opportunities, as well as developing and designing the program structures and content areas. She is also a board member of Durham’s Women Commission and Workforce Development, which are organizations focused on women’s issues and youth and adult workers’ professional development and employment.
