Ruby Pernell

Ruby Pernell (1917–2001) was a professor of social work who served as a faculty member at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and Case Western Reserve University.

Pernell was hired by the University of Minnesota as a professor of social work in 1948, the same year that Edwin D. Driver was hired by the University of Massachusetts. Pernell and Driver are believed to be the first black faculty members hired by a state flagship university in the twentieth century.

At the end of her career, Pernell was considered a pioneer in the field international social work.