Alan Ruby has a 40-year career in government, business, philanthropy, and education.
At the University of Pennsylvania, as a Senior Fellow in the Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy, he focuses on globalization’s effects on universities and education around the world. A highly regarded teacher, Alan leads graduate seminars on “Globalization and the University”. He earned the School’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 2006.
He currently serves as a consultant to the World Bank, an adviser to the HEAD Foundation in Singapore, to Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan, and the American Institutes of Research. In 2015, Alan was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to international education through global reform initiatives, and his work with philanthropic organizations.
Alan was a senior executive of one of the world’s premier grant making groups, The Atlantic Philanthropies, and served as director of the Human Development Sector for the World Bank’s East Asia and the Pacific region. In that role, he led programs in education, health, and social insurance in 12 countries, including China, Vietnam and Indonesia.
Alan served for over six years as Australia’s Deputy Secretary of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs. He was responsible for primary and secondary education, higher education, and vocational education and training.
He also chaired the education programs of the OECD, spearheading the development of education metrics comparing school results across member countries including the development of a new assessment regime (PISA).
Alan 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.
At the University of Pennsylvania, as a Senior Fellow in the Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy, he focuses on globalization’s effects on universities and education around the world. A highly regarded teacher, Alan leads graduate seminars on “Globalization and the University”. He earned the School’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 2006.
He currently serves as a consultant to the World Bank, an adviser to the HEAD Foundation in Singapore, to Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan, and the American Institutes of Research. In 2015, Alan was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to international education through global reform initiatives, and his work with philanthropic organizations.
Alan was a senior executive of one of the world’s premier grant making groups, The Atlantic Philanthropies, and served as director of the Human Development Sector for the World Bank’s East Asia and the Pacific region. In that role, he led programs in education, health, and social insurance in 12 countries, including China, Vietnam and Indonesia.
Alan served for over six years as Australia’s Deputy Secretary of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs. He was responsible for primary and secondary education, higher education, and vocational education and training.
He also chaired the education programs of the OECD, spearheading the development of education metrics comparing school results across member countries including the development of a new assessment regime (PISA).
Alan 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.