Dr. Brent Ruben is Professor of Communication and Organizational Psychology, and Executive Director of the Center for Organizational Development and Leadership at Rutgers University. He is the author or editor of more than 40 books and 100 book chapters and journal articles on communication processes and functions in individual, interpersonal, health, organizational, intercultural and educational settings. In the area of higher education quality, his books include Pursuing Excellence in Higher Education: Eight Fundamental Challenges, Jossey-Bass, 2003, and Strategic Planning in Higher Education: A Guide for Leaders (with Sherrie Tromp), NACUBO, 2004, Excellence in Higher Education 2003-2004: A Baldrige-Based Guide to Organizational Assessment, Planning and Improvement (NACUBO, 2001); and Quality in Higher Education (Transaction Books, 1995).

Dr. Ruben is the 2004 recipient of the National Communication Association Gerald Phillips Award for Distinguished Applied Scholarship. In 2003, Brent received the National Association of College and University Business Officers Professional Development and Scholarship Award, and in 2000, he received the Rutgers University Daniel Gorenstein Memorial Award for outstanding scholarship and service to the university community.

Dr. Ruben was Founding Chair and a current Board Member of the National Consortium of Continuous Improvement in Higher Education (NCCI), and served as Chair of the National Quality Council on Higher Education for The Conference Board (1995-96). He has been an examiner for the Department of Commerce/NIST Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards, a member of the NIST Education and Pilot Advisory and Evaluation Team, and a member of the Panel of Judges for the New Jersey Governor's Excellence Awards (1996-99). He has also provided professional consultation to a variety of corporate, healthcare, governmental and educational organizations. Within higher education, these include the University of California-Berkeley, University of Wisconsin-Madison, MIT, Miami University, University at Buffalo, and the University of Pennsylvania.

Other books by Dr. Ruben include Communication and Human Behavior, Fourth Edition, with L. Stewart (Allyn-Bacon, 2005), Mass Communication: Producers and Consumers (HarperCollins, 1993, with T. Hunt), Communicating with Patients (Kendall-Hunt, 1992), General System Theory and Human Communication and Interdisciplinary Approaches to Human Communication. Additional biographical information is available at Brent Ruben's personal Website.

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