Brent David Ruben (born October 17, 1944) is a Distinguished Professor of Communication, Department of Communication, Rutgers School of Communication and Information. He also serves as Advisor for Strategy and Planning in the Office to the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, is Senior University Fellow in leadership and communication, and founder of the Rutgers Center for Organizational Leadership. Ruben is a member of faculties of Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine and the Ph.D. Program in Higher Education in the Rutgers Graduate School of Education. Ruben's 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 60 books and 150 journal articles and book chapters in these areas. Early life and education Brent was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and lived in Des Moines, Iowa through his early years. Ruben 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. in communication from the University of Iowa in 1970. Career University of Iowa – School of Journalism and Mass Communication After receiving his Ph.D., Ruben was promoted from Instructor to a tenure-track Assistant Professor position. His primary focus was on communication education, experiential instruction, and the development and implementation of Intermedia, a year-long theory-based experiential program for communication and mass communication instruction. Rutgers University – Department of Communication In 1971, Ruben accepted a position at Rutgers University as Assistant Professor to contribute to the university’s goal of transforming the small journalism department with 4 faculty and 65 majors into a nationally-recognized Department of Communication. In the subsequent years the Department was renamed and re-envisioned to become one of the first units in the country to include speech communication and mass communication in a single department, and the first to make experiential instruction a core component of the curriculum. In addition to his teaching and research responsibilities, Ruben designed and coordinated Interact which was the name given to the two-year communication simulation in which all majors participated. Interact created a laboratory that translated concepts from speech, group, organizational, and mass communication into experiential learning activities. (See articles on experiential learning, simulation, and gaming in References and Selected Publications). Ruben served as assistant department