Brent David Ruben

Brent David Ruben (born, October 17, 1944) is a distinguished professor of communication and executive director of the Center for Organizational Development and Leadership at Rutgers University. His academic career has been devoted to advancing interdisciplinary and systemic approaches to the study of communication, and the application of these frameworks in cross-cultural, health, educational, organizational, and leadership contexts. He is author of more than 50 books and 135 journal articles in these areas.

Ruben was the Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Organizational Development and Leadership (ODL) at Rutgers University (1993-present), created by the university president, to serve as a resource for Rutgers and the higher educational community, nationally and internationally. The Center provides programs and consultation services in areas of organizational advancement and academic and administrative leadership development, to assist administrators, faculty, staff, and graduate and medical students to develop and enhance their higher education leadership capabilities.

Ruben was also a founder and is co-director of the Rutgers Leadership Academy (RLA), and of the Rutgers PreDoctoral Leadership Development Institute (PLDI). In addition to being a member of the faculty of the Department of Communication, of which he was a founding member, Ruben also serves on the faculties of the Rutgers Graduate School of Education, Ph.D. Program in Higher Education, and Department of Family and Community Medicine of the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School,. Additionally, he is one of two Rutgers liaisons, representing Rutgers to the Big Ten Conference Academic Alliance (BTAA), Academic Leadership Development Program and Departmental Executive Officers Program.

1. Early life and education

Brent Ruben was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1944, and is the oldest of two sons born to Nate Ruben and Ruth Subotnik Ruben, both of whom attended the University of Iowa. Nate was a graduate of the School of Pharmacy; Ruth an honors and Phi Beta Kappa graduate in Sociology. Subsequent to Nate’s completion of military service, the family moved to Des Moines, where Brent Ruben attended elementary and middle school, and graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1962. He attended the University of Iowa, graduating in 1966 with majors in psychology and advertising. He completed a Master’s degree in Communication from the University of Iowa, in 1968, and a Ph.D. from Iowa in 1970.

2. Career

During his years at Iowa, Ruben held a research assistantship, and later an instructorship, and was appointed tenure-track assistant professor of the University of Iowa, School of Journalism and Mass Communication after graduation.

He served on a research group focused on the study and application of experiential learning theory and methods in communication and mass communication education, and for instruction in social science, more generally. The team developed innovative communication instructional simulations, the most extensive of which was called Intermedia which integrated communication theory and practice in a program which became the centerpiece of undergraduate education in journalism and mass communication at Iowa.

Rutgers Years - The Department of Communication

In 1971, Ruben accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Communication at Rutgers University where he worked with Richard Budd to establish a Department of Communication, in which experiential teaching and learning approaches would play a central role. He developed Interact, a complex instructional communication education experiential system which integrated speech, group, organizational, and mass communication instruction, which became the central and integrating component in the undergraduate program. What had been a professionally-oriented Department of Journalism with four faculty members, 65 majors and 200 total enrollments per semester was transformed to become one of the first departments in the country to fully integrate theory and practice from the fields of speech communication and journalism/mass communication in a single unit, and the first to study and apply experiential teaching and

learning—and simulation and gaming, in particular. (See selected articles on experiential learning, simulation and gaming in References and Selected Publications).

The department grew substantially in size and prominence, and was renamed the Department of Human Communication to reflect its broadened scope. Ruben served as assistant department chair from 1976-80. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1980, and was appointed chair in that same year, a position in which he served until 1984. By the end of his tenure as chair, the department had grown in size and prominence, with 18 full-time faculty and staff, 800 majors with 6,000 student enrollments per year in interpersonal, intercultural, organizational, international, health, speech and mass communication.

Consistent with his work within the department during those years, Ruben’s scholarship and publication focused on general systems theory (General System Theory and Human Communication, with J. Kim, 1975), and other interdisciplinary conceptualizations which were useful for integrating the then distinct theories of speech communication and mass communication.

Ruben’s interest in integrating the multidisciplinary traditions of communication in undergraduate education also led to the publication of a work entitled, Approaches to Human Communication (With R. Budd), which was created for use as the introductory text at Rutgers and at a number of other departments of communication. Approaches to Human Communication provided a broad perspective on the field exploring 24 disciplinary orientations to communication from Anthropology to Zoology. In 1984, Ruben authored Communication and Human Behavior (CHB) to provide an integrated, interdisciplinary, and more broadly accessible book on the role of communication in human affairs. CHB is now in its 5th edition, and coauthored with L. Stewart.

In 1977, Ruben proposed the creation of a Communication Yearbook to the leadership of the International Communication Association, and the association agreed to sponsor the publication. As series founder, Ruben also served as first editor of the annual series, which is now in its 40th year of publication. Then, as now, the goal of the series was to promote theoretical integration and coherence by annually publishing state-of-the-discipline overviews along with exemplary research in various subareas of the field.

In 1983, Ruben was named to a university committee charged by the Provost with developing a plan to form a comprehensive school composed of the various disciplines related to communication and information within Rutgers. Bylaws and a structure for the new unit was proposed, and what was then named the School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies, was chartered. Later, the name was changed to the School of Communication and Information. The new school included communication (speech, interpersonal and mass), journalism and mass media, and library and information science. Ruben was selected as the first Ph.D. Program Director for the newly formed school, a role that would require him to create a theoretical and programmatic framework to incorporate the various disciplines in a single hybrid Ph.D. program—which

would become the first of its kind nationally, and a model for a number of other institutions. 1 He served in this role from 1983 to 1993, and was promoted to full professor in 1987.

Rutgers Years - the Center for Organizational Development and Leadership

In 1993, Dr. Ruben stepped down from the Ph.D. program directorship to accept an offer from university president, Francis Lawrence to create and lead a university-wide program in Organizational Quality and Communication Improvement (now called the Rutgers Center for Organizational Development and Leadership—(ODL).

What is now ODL was chartered with the mission of providing professional consultation and programming in the university in the areas of organizational effectiveness, assessment, planning, and leadership development. Ruben led in the formation of resource-sharing partnerships between Rutgers and Johnson & Johnson and Rutgers & AT&T, both recognized corporate leaders in the area of continuous quality improvement. Under Ruben’s leadership, a number of books and articles were developed that applied concepts of organizational quality and leadership from business and healthcare, to the higher education context.(See selected publications below).

During this period, Rutgers played a pivotal role in creating a national consortium to encourage networking and facilitate best practices sharing across institutions, along with other institutions—among them the University of California-Berkeley, Cornell University, the University of Missouri-Rolla, Penn State University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Ruben was elected the first president of the organization—now named the Network for Change and Continuous Improvement in Higher Education (NCCI). NCCInow has approximately 100 institutions represented in the organization.

ODL Today

As Executive Director of ODL, Dr. Ruben reports to the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, and serves on the University Administrative Council. The ODL team works closely with senior academic and administrative leaders and with colleagues from the Graduate School-NB, the Office of the Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs, the Office of the Chancellor of the Rutgers University-New Brunswick, the Office of the Chancellor of the Rutgers University Biological and Health Sciences, the Department of Communication, the School of Communication of Information Studies, and the Graduate School of Education

to provide an internal leadership and organizational development resource for academic and administrative leaders at Rutgers-New Brunswick, Rutgers-Newark, and Rutgers-Camden. Additionally, ODL plays a significant role nationally and internationally through resources provided on its website, publications authored by Ruben and colleagues, and presentations and short-courses presented by Ruben at colleges and universities throughout the U.S. and for colleagues from Canada, Mexico, Chile, England, Northern Ireland, China, and Qatar.

Special Projects and Honors

Ruben was project director for a variety of research and training programs with the support of Associate Director, Sherrie Tromp, including: The Leaders of Tomorrow Program, AT&T Foundation, 2001-2002; Rutgers-Johnson & Johnson Knowledge Networking Group, 2001-2004; Rutgers-AT&T organizational partnership, 1993-2001, and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Academic Leadership Development Institute Kellogg Foundation 2000-2003.

Ruben has received awards in recognition of his scholarly and professional leadership, including the National Communication Association Gerald Phillips Award (2004), the Rutgers University Daniel Gorenstein Award (2000), the National Association for College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) award (2003), and the Brent D. Ruben Leadership Award, created, and named in his honor and awarded annually by the National Consortium for Change and Continuous Innovation in Higher Education (NCCI) to recognize distinguished contributors to higher education (2006).

Ruben has also served as a member of the U.S. Department of Education Rule-Making Committee on Accreditation Standards Advisory Group (2007). He is a Malcolm Baldrige Examiner and a member of the National Institutes of Standards and Technology Education and Healthcare Baldrige Pilot Advisory and Evaluation Team, and serves on the Middle States Accreditation Examiner (1994-97), Special Consultant to Canadian Royal Commission on Conditions of Foreign Service (1980-81), and in various other advisory roles.

3. Family and Personal Life

Brent and his wife, Jann (B.A. Elementary Education, University of Iowa) married in 1967, and now live in Hillsborough, NJ. His daughter Robbi (M.A., Communication, Rutgers University) and her husband, Matt (B.S. Environmental Science, Rutgers University), and their three children, Rebecca, Nathan and Nicholas also live in Hillsborough. Son, Marc (Ph.D., Neurobiology, New York University) and his wife, Larissa (B.A., Sociology, University of Colorado) reside in Cincinnati.

Ruben enjoys collecting antique toys, 1960s collectables, cars of all sizes, biking, Ocean City and the Jersey Shore.

4. Selected References and Bibliography

Communication and Information Theory

Ruben, B.D., & L. Stewart. Communication and Human Behavior. Sixth Edition. Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt, 2016.

Ruben, B. D., R Reis, B. K. Iverson, and G Belmas, Mass Communication: Producers and Consumers. Second Edition. Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt, 2010.

Budd, R. W. and B. D. Ruben, eds., Interdisciplinary Approaches to Human Communication. Second Edition, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 2003

Schement, Jorge, and B. D. Ruben, eds., Information and Behavior: Volume 4. Between Communication and Information. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1993, 537.

Budd, R. W., and B. D. Ruben., Beyond Media: New Approaches to Mass Communication. Second Edition. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1988.

Ruben, B. D., ed., Information and Behavior: Volume 1. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1985, 548 pp.

Ruben, B. D., A System-Theoretic Approach to Intercultural Communication, International and Intercultural Communication Annual, 7, 1983, 131-145.

Ruben, B. D., Communication and Conflict: A System-Theoretic Perspective, Quarterly Journal of Speech, 64(2), 1978, 202-210.

Budd, R. W. and B. D. Ruben, eds., Interdisciplinary Approaches to Human Communication. Rochelle Park, NJ: Hayden, 1979.

Ruben, B. D., General Systems Theory. In Interdisciplinary Approaches to Human Communication (R. W. Budd and B. D. Ruben, eds.), Rochelle Park, NJ: Hayden, 1979.

Ruben, B. D., ed., Communication Yearbook 2. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction-International Communication Association, 1978.

Ruben, B. D., ed., Communication Yearbook 1. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction-International Communication Association, 1977.

Ruben, B. D. and J. Y. Kim, eds., General Systems and Human Communication Theory. Rochelle Park, NJ: Hayden, 1975.

Budd, R. W. and B. D. Ruben, eds., Approaches to Human Communication. New York: Spartan, 1972.

Ruben, B. D., General Systems Theory: An Approach to Human Communication. In Approaches to Human Communication (R. W. Budd and B. D. Ruben, eds.), New York: Spartan, 1972, 120-144.

Higher Education, Leadership and Organizational Studies

Gigliotti, R., A., C. Goldthwaite, C., and B. D. Ruben, Leadership: Communication and Social Influence in Personal and Professional Contexts. Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt, 2017.

Ruben, B. D., R. De Lisi, and R. A. Gigliotti, A Guide for Leaders in Higher Education: Core Concepts, Competencies, and Tools. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, 2017.

Ruben, B. D. and R. A. Gigliotti, Communication: Sine Qua Non of Organizational Leadership Theory and Practice. International Journal of Business Communication, 54(1) 12-30, 2017. http://job.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/54/1/12.pdf?ijkey=q5OwQeMmwWoQnMp&keytype=finite

Ruben, B. D., and R. A., Gigliotti, Are Higher Education Institutions and their Leadership Needs Unique? The Vertical Versus Horizontal Perspective, Higher Education Review, 2017 (in press)

Gigliotti, R. A., and B. D. Ruben, Preparing Higher Education Leaders: A Conceptual, Strategic, and Operational Approach, The Journal of Leadership Education, Special Issue, 2017. http://www.journalofleadershiped.org/attachments/article/478/0570_gigliotti.pdf.

Ruben, B. D.., and R.A. Gigliotti. Leadership as Social Influence: An Expanded View of Leadership Communication Theory and Practice. Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, 23(4) pp. 467-479, May, 2016. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1548051816641876

Ruben, B. D., The Excellence in Higher Education Guide: A Framework for the Design, Assessment, and Continuous Improvement of Institutions, Departments and Programs - Eighth Edition. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing. 2016.

Ruben, B.D., Understanding, Planning, and Leading Organizational Change. Indianapolis, IN: The College Network/Washington, D.C.: National Association of College and University Business Officers, 2012.

B. D. Ruben, K.M. Immordino, S. Tromp, and B. Agnew. Using Interactive, Scenario-Based Simulations for Leadership Development. Handbook of Research on Improving Learning and Motivation through Educational Games: Multidisciplinary Approaches, ed. by Patrick Felicia. Hershey, PA. IGI Global Publishers, 2010.

Tromp, S., and B. D. Ruben, Strategic Planning in Higher Education: A Leader’s Guide, Second Edition, Washington, D.C.: National Association of College and University Business Officers, 2010. (B)

Ruben, B.D., Understanding, Planning, and Leading Organizational Change. Washington, D.C.: National Association of College and University Business Officers, 2009.

Ruben, B. D., L. Lewis, L. Sandmeyer, T. Russ, S. Smulowitz, and K. Immordino. Assessing the Impact of the Spellings Commission: The Message, the Messenger, and the Dynamics of Change in Higher Education. Washington, D.C.: National Association of College and University Business Officers, 2008. http://www.nacubo.org/documents/business_topics/full%20study.pdf.

Ruben, B. D., What Leaders Need to Know and Do: A Leadership Competencies Scorecard. Washington, DC: National Association of College and University Business Officers, 2006.

Ruben, B. D., Linking Communication Scholarship and Professional Practice in Colleges and Universities. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 33(4), Nov 2005, 294-304.

Ruben, B. D., The Center for Organizational Development and Leadership at Rutgers University: A Case Study, “Organization Development and Change in Universities. A special issue of Advances in Developing Human Resources, 7(3), 2005, 368-395.

Ruben, B. D., Pursuing Excellence in Higher Education: Eight Fundamental Principles. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004, 420 pp.

Ruben, B. D., Quality in Higher Education New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books, 1995.

Medical and Health Communication

Ruben, B. D., Communication Theory and Health Communication Practice: The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same. Health Communication, 2015, 1-11. Available online: November 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2014.923086.

Ruben, B. D., Communication and the Quality of Care: Understanding the Role of Communication in Patient-Caregiver Encounters. In Communication Theory: A Casebook Approach. (L. Lederman and W. D.

Gibson, ed.), Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt, 2005, 433-450.

Ruben, B. D., What Patients Remember: A Content Analysis of Critical Incidents in Health Care, Health Communication, 5(2), 1993, 99-112. (A)

Ruben, B. D., and Nurit Guttman, Caregiver-Patient Communication: Readings. Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt, 1993.

Ruben, B. D., Communicating with Patients. Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt, 1992.

Ruben, B. D., The Health Caregiver-Patient Relationship: Pathology, Etiology, Treatment. In Communication and Health: Systems and Applications (E. B. Ray and L. Donohew, eds.), Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1989, 51-68.

Intercultural Communication

Ruben, B. D., Intercultural Communication Competence in Retrospect: Who Would have Guessed? International Journal of Intercultural Relations. 48m 2015 (April), 22-23.

Ruben, B. D., Cross-Cultural Communication Competence: Traditions and Issues for the Future, International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 13(3), 1989.

Ruben, B. D., Human Communication and Cross-Cultural Effectiveness, International and Intercultural Communication Annual, 4, 1977, 95-105.

Kim, Y. Y. and B. D. Ruben, Intercultural Transformation: A Systems Theory. International and Intercultural Communication Annual, 12, 1988, 299-321.

Ruben, B. D., and D. J. Kealey, Behavioral Assessment of Communication Competency and the Prediction of Cross-Cultural Adaptation, International Journa1 of Intercultural Relations, 3(1), 1979.

Ruben, B. D., Guidelines for Cross-Cultural Communication Effectiveness, Group and Organization Studies, 2(4), 1977, 470-479, http://gom.sagepub.com/content/2/4/470.full.pdf+html.

Ruben, B. D., Assessing Communication Competence for Intercultural Communication Adaptation, Group and Organization Studies, 1(3), 1976, 334-354, http://gom.sagepub.com/content/1/3/334.full.pdf.

Experiential Learning Theory and Practice

Ruben, B.D. Immordino, K.M., Tromp, S.A. and Agnew. LEADER.edu: An Interactive Scenario-Based Leadership Development Simulation in Handbook of Research on Improving Learning and Motivation through Educational Games: Multidisciplinary Approaches, edited by Patrick Felicia, 2010.

Ruben, B. D., Simulations, Games and Experience-Based Learning: The Quest for a New Paradigm for Teaching-and-Learning. Simulations & Games, 30(4), 1999.

Lederman, L. C., and B. D. Ruben, Systematic Assessment of Communication Games and Simulations: An Applied Framework, Communication Education, 13(2), 1984, 152-159. (A)

Ruben, B. D., and L. C. Lederman, Validity, Reliability, and Utility in Instructional Simulation Gaming, Simulation and Games, 13(2), 1982, 233-344. (A)

Ruben, B. D., Communication Games and Simulations: An Evaluation. In The Guide to Simulations/Games for Education and Training: Fourth Edition (R. E. Horn and A.Cleaves, eds.), Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1980, 11-25.

Lederman, L.C., and B. D. Ruben, Construct Validity in Instructional Communication Simulations, Simulations and Games, 9(3), 1978.

Ruben, B. D., Human Communication Handbook: Simulations and Games. Volume 2. Rochelle Park, NJ: Hayden, 1978.

Ruben, B. D., Toward a Theory of Experience-Based Instruction, Simulations and Games, 8(2), 1977.

Ruben, B. D. and R. W. Budd, Human Communication Handbook: Simulations and Games. Volume 1. Rochelle Park, NJ: Hayden, 1975.

Ruben, B. D., lnteract II: An Instructional Simulation for Communication Education.Wayne, NJ: Avery Publishing Group, 1977.

Ruben, B. D., The What and Why of Gaming: A Taxonomy of Experiential Learning Systems, Proceedings of the 12th Annual Symposium of the National Gaming Council and the 4th Annual Conference of the International Simulation and Gaming Association. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1974.

Ruben, B. D., Interact: An Instructional Simulation for Communication Education. Kennebunkport, ME: Mercer House Press, 1973.