Beginning May 16th, the University of Memphis will be led by a new president.
After sifting through more than 70 applicants from across the nation, the Tennessee Board of Regents selected Dr. M. David Rudd as the U of M’s 12th president Thursday, May 1st. Rudd currently serves as the university’s provost, a position he’s held since March 2013.
The decision came relatively shy of a year since Brad Martin took on the role as interim president for the school in July 2013. The school’s past president was Shirley Raines. She served in the position for more than a decade and retired June 2013.
According to a U of M press release, Rudd holds administrative and teaching experience that spans nearly 30 years. Over that time, he held such titles as dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Science at the University of Utah; professor and chair of the Department of Psychology at Texas Tech; professor and chair of the Department of Psychology at Baylor University; and professor and director of Baylor’s doctoral program in Clinical Psychology.
Rudd earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin in psychology and holds a master’s degree in psychology from there as well. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University.
His wife, Dr. Loretta Rudd, also works at the U of M as an associate professor.