Kathleen Ruby PhD
Special Assistant to the Provost
Leadership Development
Department of the Provost
Washington State University
122 Q French Administrations
Pullman, WA 99164
(509) 335-8360
kruby@vetmed.wsu.edu
Education
University of Idaho
Ph.D. in Counseling/Psychology
Dissertation: “Gender Role Identity: Impact on Depressive Symptomatology in
High Achieving Adolescent Females”
University of Idaho,
M.Ed In Counseling/Psychology
University of Northern Colorado,
B.S.
Areas of Concentration: Journalism: Public Relations/Marketing
Minor: Communication
Research/Professional Interests
Dr. Ruby served on the WSU veterinary faculty for 13 years, where she
developed courses designed to educate DVM’s- in- training about the science
and art of medical care, given the societal evolution of the Human Animal
Bond (HAB). In this capacity, she created the Washington State
University Pet Loss Support Hotline, to provide a venue for students to
learn from and interact with people across the country who have lost pets
due to trauma or euthanasia. She also developed a corresponding course
called “Understanding Client Grief and Bereavement”, to provide a
theoretical understanding of veterinary clients’ experience of euthanasia
and pet loss, to better prepare veterinarians to deal with this aspect of
their practices. Dr. Ruby, along with Dr. Phyllis Erdman of the College of
education, recently opened this course up to counseling psychology students,
to increase interdisciplinary understanding and communication between
helping professionals.
She also served as course director for an ethics/issues course entitled
Animals, the Veterinarian and Society, in which students explore all aspects
of animal use and the vast spectrum of human animal interaction in today’s
world.
Dr. Ruby’s work in these arenas led her to a specialization in how to
incorporate professional skills training and development in professional
student programs. This work is a blend of her interests in human
development, the psychology of high achieving individuals, the well-being of
health care practitioners and the development of empathy and reflection
skills in helping professionals. Along with veterinary colleague,
Richard DeBowes M.S., DVM, she developed a leadership training program for
the veterinary profession called the Veterinary Leadership Experience (VLE),
which was designed to teach psychological flexibility and enhance
self-awareness and mindfulness in veterinary professionals. She also
founded and is Editor-in- Chief of a peer-reviewed publication called The
Exceptional Veterinary Team.
She is currently on special assignment with the WSU Provost’s office to
develop a similar professional skills/leadership program for undergraduate
and graduate students and faculty across the university.
Publications and papers
- Importance of the human-animal bond for pre-veterinary, first year and
fourth year veterinary students in relation to their career choice. Francois
Martin, Kathleen Ruby, Jennifer Farnum. Journal of Veterinary Medical
Education, 2003
- Factors associated with client, staff and student satisfaction regarding
small animal euthanasia procedures at a veterinary teaching hospital.
Francois Martin, Kathleen Ruby, T. Deking, A. Taunton. Journal of the
American Veterinary Medical Association, 2004
- Veterinary students as elite performers: preliminary insights. D. Zenner, G.
Burns, K. Ruby, R. DeBowes, S. Stoll. Journal of Veterinary Medical
Education, 2005
- Teaching non-technical (professional) competencies in a veterinary school
curriculum. G. Burns, K. Ruby, R. DeBowes, S. Seaman, J. Brannan.
Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, 2006
- The veterinary healthcare team: going from good to great; Kathleen L. Ruby,
MS, PhD*, and Richard M. DeBowes, DVM, MS, Dipl ACVS**. Veterinary Clinics
of North America:Small
Animal Practice
