Tag: David Rudd

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News The Fly-By

MEMernet: Kids, Finch, and Delta, Delta, Delta

Memphis on the internet.

Kids not alright

Call them the “Blue Kids” or the “Big Kids,” but one of those big blue statues on the Vollintine-Evergreen Greenline was vandalized — partially burned — last week.

An eyewitness said they spotted two people near the statues last Monday morning. Investigators said an accelerant — probably lighter fluid — was used to start the fire.

Photo posted to Nextdoor by V&E Greenline

Finally Finch

“Work on the Larry Finch Plaza will be completed this fall,” tweeted University of Memphis President David Rudd. “Here’s what it’ll look like (and that’s not the statue just a place holder!).”

Posted to Twitter by David Rudd

Delta, Delta, Delta

The Memphis subreddit roasted this year’s Delta Fair, especially as the Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus sweeps across the land.

“More true than ever this year,” wrote original poster u/trailsonmountains.

“Truth in advertising,” wrote u/MatttheBruinsfan. “They should have set it up in a hospital parking lot instead.”

“One of the 901 Day events is called Exposure,” said u/scd73. “Terrible choice.”

Posted to Reddit by u/trailsonmountains

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News News Blog

Rudd to Step Down at University of Memphis in 2022

CREDIT: University of Memphis

University of Memphis

U of M President M. David Rudd

The University of Memphis has announced that President M. David Rudd will be leaving his position in May 2022. He plans to transition to faculty in 2023 for research and teaching. Here’s the official announcement from the U of M:

Dr. M. David Rudd, the 12th president of the University of Memphis, will be leaving his position in May 2022. He will transition to faculty in 2023 to continue his research, after a year sabbatical abroad.

“We are deeply grateful for the tireless service and dedicated leadership President Rudd has given to the University of Memphis, the City of Memphis, the UofM Lambuth campus and all of West Tennessee,” said Doug Edwards, chair of the University of Memphis Board of Trustees. “His innovative efforts have advanced the University educationally and financially, positioning the UofM to compete at the highest levels nationally. The UofM will continue its commitment to research and attaining Carnegie 1 status; development of a diverse and inclusive campus community within faculty, staff and student populations; a comprehensive, successful athletic program; and fiscal responsibility.”

The Board of Trustees will have a special-called meeting today at noon to discuss the presidential search process which may include the search committee composition and the use of an executive search firm. Additional information on the meeting can be found at https://www.memphis.edu/bot/meetings/. The successful candidate will be named before May 2022; therefore no interim will be appointed.

Rudd is completing his seventh year as President of the University of Memphis, a position he has held since May 2014. He came to the UofM the previous year and held the position of Provost. As a Distinguished University Professor of Psychology, he also continues funded research and maintains his affiliation with the National Center for Veterans Studies at the University of Utah as co-founder and scientific director.

Student success, research growth and community partnerships have been critical goals during his tenure in Memphis, with record-breaking improvements in student retention and graduation rates coupled with significant growth in research expenditures, along with community partnerships to support students. He spearheaded efforts to create a new division of Student Success; developed the University’s first integrated enrollment, retention and graduation plan; created a one-stop admissions center; launched UofM Global, developed targeted degree pathways for all majors; implemented an Academic Coaching for Excellence initiative; and offered need-based funding for the first time in UofM history.

Efforts to grow community partnerships and engagement have been successful during his tenure. Initiatives include corporate partnerships with UofM Global and FedEx (LiFE: Learning inspired by FedEx), Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare (MAAP) and the City of Memphis (COMPETE and RISE). These unique programs allow employees to overcome academic and financial barriers to receive their degrees. Additionally, the UMRF Research Park and the launching of UMRF Ventures, a private company held by the UofM Research Foundation, has led to many new partnerships with companies. Ventures hosts several FedEx Call Centers, a data analytic center and an IT Command Center. It employs more than 450 students and gross revenue approached $5.3 million in only its third year. Other innovative partnerships include the City of Memphis, Tennis Memphis and the UofM Leftwich Tennis Center expansion and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra in Residence at the UofM, which offers a series of world-class symphonic music on campus.

A total of more than $660 million in new University resources has been generated over the last seven years, including $260 million in fundraising, $55 million in new maintenance funds, $249 million in new capital investment and improvements and operational increases of more than $100 million. From an operational perspective, the UofM currently contributes nearly $1.1 billion in economic activity annually, supports nearly $500 million in wages and salary payments for local workers and is directly or indirectly responsible for roughly 9,900 Memphis-area jobs.

More than $500 million is being invested on campus and in the University Neighborhood District, with more than $140 million in private funds. Under Rudd’s leadership, the campus has been enhanced significantly while expanding rapidly. The Laurie-Walton Family Basketball Center and the Indoor Football Practice Facility have provided Tiger Athletics with two of the top facilities in the country. The Hunter Harrison Memorial Pedestrian Cable Bridge, parking garage, plaza and Alumni Mall Amphitheater have greatly improved the campus both functionally and aesthetically. Further, the forthcoming Scheidt Family Music Center, R. Brad Martin Student Wellness Center and Plaza, and Mike Rose Natatorium will provide students with state-of-the-art facilities to further support their growth. A new STEM building is currently in the planning phase and was funded this past year by the Tennessee legislature and set to break ground in 2022.

Rudd has a bachelor’s degree from Princeton and master’s and PhD degrees in psychology from the University of Texas.

The University of Memphis Board of Trustees extends their sincere gratitude to President M. David Rudd for his exemplary leadership and his varied and lengthy list of extraordinary accomplishments.

Rudd also shared a personal message to the UoM campus on his Twitter page.

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News News Blog

U of M Investigating Off-Campus Homophobic Incident


Two University of Memphis students were met with homophobic slurs while attending a fraternity party over the weekend, and now the university is investigating the incident.

Luke Chapman, an international student from the United Kingdom, along with local student Benjamin Buckley attended an off-campus keg party on Saturday, but within less than an hour of arriving, the two were told to leave.

The two students were called “faggots,” threatened with violence, and made to stand in the rain after being kicked out of the party, as first reported by the university’s newspaper, the Daily Helmsman. Chapman posted about the incident on Facebook.

“Tonight I attended a University of Memphis fraternity party, of which I was forcibly removed from for being gay,” Chapman wrote. “Getting shouted ‘fuck off you fag’ and ‘go the fuck back to great Britain you faggot’ isn’t acceptable in many forms and many might know that, but when the institution of study agrees with the people that physically threw you out, when the police in your area agree with the idea that homophobia is safe and a good practice, who do you go to? Where do you go when you’re physically thrown out of a place you’ve paid to enter and you’re sworn at and chucked out, what do you do?

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“When the University of Memphis pays money towards this practice and you turn up to class supporting this, and aid this behavior who do you go to? What do we do? This is being gay in this south and there is no help, and there is no one.”

Two days after the incident, U of M president M. David Rudd sent an email to the university community saying that it would be investigated.

“An off-campus incident involving possible bigotry has been brought to my attention and has been referred for investigation,” Rudd wrote. “The Office of the Dean of Students is in the process of reaching out to the students and others potentially involved. As a reminder, one of our core values is diversity and inclusion.

“The University of Memphis is a community where everyone is respected, included and given the opportunity to excel. This is a value we embrace with conviction. We will investigate the incident and respond accordingly.”

Based on the university’s Code of Student Rights and Responsibility, students are prohibited from making “verbal threats and/or attempts to intimidate, including but not limited to statements meant to provoke conflict with another person or which cause reasonable fear for a person’s safety.”

Such actions may subject offenders to disciplinary actions, reads the code of conduct.

The code applies to behavior that takes place on the campus and at university-sponsored events, as well as “off-campus conduct in cases in which it is determined that said conduct constitutes a substantial university interest.”

Per the code, behavior considered a substantial university interests includes:

• Any behavior that presents a danger or threat to the health or safety of any member of the university community

• Any behavior that significantly infringes upon the rights, property, or achievement of any member of the university community, which breaches the peace, and/or causes social disorder

• Any behavior that is substantially detrimental to the education mission and/or interest of the University of Memphis.

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Students who violate the code of conduct generally are notified of the charges against them via email and called in for a hearing with university officials within five days, in which they will have the opportunity to contest the alleged violation.

Disciplinary sanctions listed in the student code of conduct for those found to have violated any of the school’s policies range from a warning to expulsion. Students could also be required to pay fines or make an apology, depending on their violation.

University officials did not respond to the Flyer’s request for comment on the status of the investigation, what specific disciplinary actions, if any, the students involved could face, or what disciplinary actions the university has taken in the past for such offenses.

U of M’s Gay-Straight Alliance, Stonewall Tigers Gender and Sexuality, responded to the incident in a Facebook post earlier this week.

The group applauded university officials for their speedy response to the incident, saying, “We know this will be dealt with fairly.”

“We have extended our support to the student(s) involved in the incident and we respect the university’s efforts in conducting a prompt and formal investigation of this incident,” the post reads. “But more than anything, we want to continue our mission of providing a safe space on campus as well as educating those around us to continue to create an inclusive environment that empowers our students, faculty, and staff to pursue their intellectual, professional, and personal goals.”

The group also encouraged the campus community to attend training sessions offered by the university counseling center and the Office of Multicultural Affairs. The Safe Zone trainings are meant to address and prevent discrimination of sexual and gender minorities.

“We implore you, the concerned members of our campus community, to seek these options out in the wake of this incident.”

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Politics Politics Feature

Mayor Lee Harris’ Recent Actions Cause a Stir

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Even as most local attention begins to focus on the ongoing city election campaigns, including a multi-candidate race for Memphis mayor, another mayor, namely Lee Harris of Shelby County, is suddenly generating public attention — and controversy.

As the work week began, two actions taken by Harris were front and center in the public discourse. The first was the mayor’s announced decision to veto a budget appropriation of $1 million to the University of Memphis for renovation of the university’s swimming facilities, the Michael Rose Natatorium.

Reprising a debate that was held by Shelby County commissioners during budget deliberations and reinforcing his own call for a $15-an-hour minimum wage for public employees, Harris noted that the university still maintains a top minimum of $11.01-an-hour for some 330 employees.

Justin Fox Burks

County Mayor Lee Harris

“I believe issues of poverty that continue to persist in our community are interconnected to decisions like this one,” Harris wrote in a letter announcing his decision. “Most of the University of Memphis employees in question are women and most are African-American. Many of these workers, no doubt, have children and families who rely on their work.”

Taking note of the University’s incremental raises toward the $15-an-hour goal, Harris held out hope that it should and could be reached. “If we all work together, with level heads and open minds, I trust we can identify a plan and timeline to solve this issue. However, until then, I cannot endorse this budget allocation to the University of Memphis. I realize that my stance here may create some consternation, which is not my intent. I take this stance after deliberation, and I am trying as best I can to follow my conscience. I know that commissioners will, as always, do the same.”

The U of M president responded to Harris’ veto announcement with a letter of his own, addressed to Harris and made public, in which he recounted what he put forth as the University’s conscientious efforts over the years to raise employees’ hourly wages to the $15-an-hour level.

“We are implementing a plan to increase our hourly wage to $15/hour over the next several years,” Rudd said. “We’re doing so because we believe our employees deserve it, because it’s the right thing to do. Our employees are the foundation of our institution and the reason we’re succeeding. We are not doing it because you’ve vetoed $1M in support for the Michael Rose Natatorium. We will do so in a manner that doesn’t threaten the financial stability that we’ve worked so hard to attain, or result in dramatic tuition increases that threaten the success of our students and economic growth of the Memphis region.”

Opting to consider Harris’ letter as offering a quid pro quo fraught with “ethical” issues, Rudd concluded, “[W]e’ll continue with already implemented plans to increase our hourly pay scale, and we’ll do so in a manner that doesn’t raise questions about our compliance with accreditation standards. I appreciate your willingness to provide support for the Michael Rose Natatorium. Given the request to directly influence University policy in exchange for the funding, I will have to decline the support.”

Commissioner Van Turner, the County Commision chair, said the commission would have an opportunity to override the mayoral veto on July 22nd and predicted that the votes would be on hand to do so. But he foresaw conversations occurring in the meantime involving the university, the commission, and Harris that could result in a compromise solution.

“I think President Rudd has a plan to get to $15-an-hour that the mayor isn’t fully aware of, but I think he will come to be aware of it,” Turner said. “I think we can reach an agreement and be able to solve the veto matter amicably.”

Indeed, Rudd and Harris would later exchange messages indicating that they could agree on a new U of M initiative stepping up the university’s goal to reach the $15-an-hour plateau within the next two years.

That could obviate any head-on collision on July 22nd. Commission sentiment had been mixed in any case and contradicted any assumptions of a party-line vote providing an override. Commissioner Tami Sawyer, a Democrat and a candidate for city mayor, had said she was offended by Rudd’s manner and would vote to uphold Harris’ veto. Sawyer said the University head’s letter was “disrespectful” of county government prerogatives and of Harris’ position. “It was just this side of calling him [Harris] ‘uppity,'” she said.

Conversely, Mark Billingsley, a Republican, had said he intended to override the veto and had predicted that other Republicans would do as well.

A Bombshell Endorsement

Meanwhile, a number of commissioners expressed bewilderment privately at another surprise move on Harris’ part, his public endorsement over the weekend of District 6 City Council candidate Davin Clemons. The endorsement, accompanied by a $500 campaign donation, was made through the auspices of the Tennessee Voter Project, a PAC founded by Harris.

To begin with, it qualifies as something of a bombshell that the head of Shelby County government should intervene so directly in a city election. Secondly, Clemons, an openly gay police officer/minister who has served as the MPD’s liaison with the LGBTQ community while simultaneously filing a discrimination suit against the department, is not widely regarded as being competitive in the Distrct 6 race.

Most importantly, Harris’ endorsement of Clemons puts him in direct opposition to Edmund Ford Sr., the former holder of the District 6 seat who is the odds-on favorite to regain it, and who is supported by several members of the commission. The mayor’s action is sure to exacerbate his already strained relations with Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr., the council candidate’s son who succeeded his father for two council terms of his own. The junior Ford has been openly critical of several of the mayor’s actions and recently told Harris in open session, “I can’t respect you.”

That remark was in reaction to a quip made by Harris in a TV interview in which the mayor blamed his problems with Commissioner Ford on the fact that he had beaten two members of the extended Ford family in previous election contests. Harris’ support of Clemons against Edmund Ford Sr. is unlikely to defuse any hard feelings on the part of the Fords.

It is taken for granted by those who know Harris, who served abbreviated terms as a city councilman and state senator before his election as county mayor last year, that his ultimate ambition is to serve in Congress. He actively considered a Democratic primary race against 9th District Congressman Steve Cohen in 2016 before opting not to. The mayor’s current actions — and the response to them — could impact that race or any other potential political ambitions he may have in mind.

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Food & Drink Hungry Memphis

Gibson’s Donuts at U of M? Not So Fast

It was all a misunderstanding, says Britton DeWeese of Gibson’s Donuts.

It was announced earlier this month that food services at the University of Memphis would be taken over by Chartwell Higher Ed, which promised to shift focus on local food. Part of that deal would be bringing Gibson’s Donuts to the University of Memphis campus.

“I just thought they were trying to set up an account where they could get donuts regularly and just sign a ticket and get billed once a month,” he says. “[The Chartwell rep] never said anything to me about selling them on campus.”

Having someone else sell a Gibson donut is never going to happen, according to DeWeese.

The situation got out of hand when U of M president David Rudd tweeted the (fake) news. 

Gibson’s Donuts at U of M? Not So Fast

DeWeese says his phone blew up. He isn’t really hooked into social media, so his friends sent screen shots of the Rudd’s tweet.

“So that’s how we found out what they wanted to do,” he recalls.

DeWeese says Gibson’s is not set up for such a venture. And they would never allow it.

He says it just wouldn’t work. If the donuts were bought directly from Gibson’s that would mean the donuts would be handled twice, which is unappealing, and they would have to be sold for more money. This doesn’t make sense to him since the donuts are available relatively close to campus on Mendenhall.

Having someone bake their donuts themselves wouldn’t work either, according to DeWeese.

“It’s just not that kind of product,” he says. “We don’t have recipes, we don’t have a scale or a measuring cup in the donut shop. Making dough is an art form. It’s not like baking cookies. You can’t just put a pound of this and a pound of that and come out the same every time because the weather affects the dough.”

“We’ve learned through experience if you want it done right, you’ve got to do it yourself. And we can’t be in two places at once, which is why there will never be two Gibson’s. It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality.”

Again, DeWeese characterizes this as a misunderstanding between the parties.

DeWeese says of Rudd’s tweet, “It surprised us. I guess he kind of jumped the gun.”

Updated: A spokesperson for the U of M says that they are still in negotiations with Gibson’s.

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News News Blog

U of M to Launch Commercial Aviation Program This Fall

CREDIT: CIT

CIT

Crew Training International instructor working with students

The University of Memphis will begin training pilots this fall with a new commercial aviation program.

The university is partnering with Millington’s Crew Training International (CTI) Professional Flight Training to offer a Bachelor of Science in Commercial Aviation degree.

David Rudd, U of M president said the Commercial Aviation program is meant to prepare students for 21st-century jobs and better position them for opportunities at companies like Fedex Express.

“There will be ample demand for qualified, well-trained pilots in the coming decades, and this program and partnership will help U of M students become top candidates for these careers,” Rudd said.

Students in the program will receive 61 credit hours of professional aviation training, and 59 hours of classroom instruction including courses in business and management. The degree is meant to prepare graduates for careers in corporate and general aviation, other aviation-related businesses, airport operations, and government regulation of aviation.

With a bachelor’s degree in aviation, a graduate’s required number of flight hours to become a commercial pilot decreases by 500.

The program also gives veterans an opportunity to use post-9/11 benefits for flight training costs, now that the U of M is partnering with CTI. Additionally, high school students in the Aviation Study program at T-STEM Academy East High School are expected to “naturally and locally progress into the U of M’s program.”

This will create an “exciting local path that has a global impact,” Jim Bowman, senior vice president of flight operations for Fedex said.

The program will be “uniquely positioned” to support the needs of the local community and address the “looming” pilot shortage. The U of M reports that more than 42 percent of active U.S. airline pilots will retire over the next 10 years. Boeing estimates that in the next 20 years, North American airlines need 117,000 new pilots.

Bowman said as the aviation industry evolves, aviators have to be more tech savvy and better prepared academically than before.

“I’m excited that the University of Memphis is now part of the path to a successful career in the aviation industry, and I congratulate the university’s leadership for having the foresight to create this program,” Bowman said.

Categories
News The Fly-By

U of M May Raise Minimum Wage to $10.10 Per Hour

After working as a custodian at the University of Memphis for eight years, 61-year-old Thelma Rimmer only makes $8.94 an hour.

“I can hardly make it,” Rimmer said. “I’ve been up there eight years. I guess they’ve given me a dollar a year. When I first started, I was making $7.25. There are people who’ve been there 20 years that are not even making $10 an hour. Most people there have to work two or three jobs [to maintain a living].”

Rimmer is one of approximately 110 workers at the U of M who could receive a pay raise if the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) approves the university’s proposal to raise its hourly wage to $10.10 for regular, benefits-eligible employees.

The proposal will be considered at TBR’s December board meeting. If approved, the increase would be implemented in January 2015. It would mainly impact custodial workers, grounds workers, parking assistants, and clerks.

Thelma Rimmer

According to the U of M, the lowest minimum wage for employees in benefits-eligible positions is $8.75 per hour. Currently, the lowest wage paid for that position at the university is $8.88 per hour.

U of M president M. David Rudd said he’s been determined to raise salaries for the university’s lowest paid workers since being appointed in May.

“We value our employees and believe that raising the salaries of our lowest paid employees is the right thing to do,” Rudd said. “We have been working towards this for several years, and our human resources department identified initiatives that created sufficient savings to make this increase possible. It’s a critical issue for the University of Memphis and certainly one of our priorities.”

The fight to raise minimum wages for employees in benefits-eligible positions at the U of M has been ongoing since 2010. The United Campus Workers (UCW), of which Rimmer is vice president, has been on the frontline in the fight. The organization has been pushing to secure better wages for benefits-eligible employees at all state-based institutions.

The UCW has had moderate success with its movement. In 2013, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville raised minimum wages for campus workers to $9.50 in response to the UCW’s campaign.

Tom Anderson, president of the UCW, said although the ultimate goal is a living wage of $15 per hour for all low-paid campus workers, increasing minimum wages to $10.10 is a great start in compensating employees fairly for their labor.

Anderson said the increase could “mean an economic boom for Memphis.”

“Even when you get beyond the initial impact of taking home more money, it means increased stability for people [and] increased buying power,” Anderson said. “And all the people this would affect spend money in the community, so it supports local businesses [and] the city of Memphis, whether it’s house payments or rent or just groceries or getting your car fixed.”

Rimmer said she and her colleagues would appreciate a raise to $10.10 an hour, but they still desire an income that allows them to avoid living paycheck-to-paycheck.

“People have families. They want to be able to have a house, a car, take their kids out and let them go do things,” Rimmer said. “What do you think the common laborer should make? I think $15 per hour would be just fine. For a person to work 22 years, you don’t think they deserve at least $15 to retire? There are a lot of folks at the university that have retired on minimum wage.”

Categories
News The Fly-By

University of Memphis President David Rudd Plans To Increase Enrollment, Lower Tuition

The University of Memphis is under the tutelage of a new leader: Dr. M. David Rudd. More than a year after he became the university’s provost, Rudd was selected by the Tennessee Board of Regents to become its 12th president.

Rudd’s administrative and teaching experience spans nearly 30 years. Over that time, he held positions at the University of Utah, Texas Tech, and Baylor University.

David Rudd

Rudd spoke with the Flyer about the pressure of taking on the position, his plan for increasing student enrollment, and how he will fix the university’s operating budget. — Louis Goggans

Flyer: Dr. Shirley Raines led the university for more than a decade. Do you feel any pressure taking on the position after her?

Rudd: I think those are some huge shoes to fill. Dr. Raines did a wonderful job at the university. She led with great success and moved the university forward in very significant ways. We’re looking at a new chapter in the history of the university, and I’m excited and eager to be a part of that process.

What are some of your plans as president?

We’ve got the issue of access and affordability that really is at the heart of the mission of the university. We’ve made some great strides both in terms of addressing access and affordability and, in parallel fashion, issues of retention and degree completion.

In addition to the idea of excellence in the classroom and helping address the financial aid of our students, we’re going to focus on enhancing, expanding, and improving the research mission of the university.

How challenging do you anticipate it will be to transition from being the university’s provost to its president?

I think serving as president of a university is a significant challenge. [But] having the opportunity to work as provost has provided me a nice foundation on which to build. It’s really provided me an excellent depth of understanding of the [university’s] inner workings from almost every perspective. And it certainly gives me a nice head start. I’m confident in our future and the direction that we’re headed.

U of M student enrollment has declined over the past couple of years. How do you plan to increase the student population?

We actually have put a number of things in place. Our efforts to flatten tuition and look at decreasing out-of-state tuition are a definitive response to that challenge. We think it’s going to lead to significant growth for the university. But also, we have tried to provide some additional supportive resources geared toward students’ success. There are a lot of challenges, particularly for first-generation students, in terms of moving into a demanding college environment where they have to juggle a lot of different things. We’ve put some support programs in place to help ease that transition and hopefully improve overall success.

A $20 million gap in the university’s budget led to more than 20 administrative staff lay-offs this April. How will you keep the budget on track moving forward?

We’ve made some significant changes this year that we think will lead to some long-term stability in the budget. When we looked at areas where we needed some budget reductions, we didn’t do that informally. And we were able to bolster some areas where we have high student demand and high student need. We hope that it’s positioned us well for down the road.