Description of Research Expertise

Areas of Expertise

Education reform at all levels of the education system
Education in developing countries and OECD nations
Globalization
International education

Professional Biography

Mr. Ruby has a 40-year career in government, business, philanthropy, and education ranging from classroom teacher to Australian deputy secretary of education to chair of the OECD education committee. He also currently serves as a consultant to the World Bank, an adviser to the Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools and the Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan, and as a senior fellow for Internationalization at NAFSA.

At the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Ruby focuses on globalization’s effects on universities and education around the world. A highly regarded teacher, he leads graduate seminars on “Globalization and the University” and “Learning from Higher Education in Other Nations.” He earned the School’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 2006.

Mr. Ruby was a senior executive of one of the world’s leading grant making groups, The Atlantic Philanthropies, and served as director of the Human Development Sector for the East Asia Region of the World Bank, where he led the World Bank’s programs in education, health, and social insurance in 12 countries including China, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Mr. Ruby served for over six years as Australia’s Deputy Secretary of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs, where he was responsible for primary and secondary education, higher education, and vocational education and training. He chaired the education programs of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), spearheading the development of education metrics comparing school results across member countries. He was also a member of the Scientific Advisory Group that created the framework for the flagship OECD publication Education at a Glance. Early in his career, he was a teacher and an official in the state government of New South Wales.

Research Interests

Mr. Ruby maintains a longstanding interest in education reform, globalization, alliances between unions and governments, and the role of education in developing economies.