David Rudd
In his sixth year as president of the University of Memphis, Rudd has overseen record-breaking improvements in retention and graduation rates. Efforts include a new division of Student Success, need-based funding (for the first time in the school’s history), and LiFE: Learning Inspired by FedEx, a program that offers eligible FedEx employees a chance to earn a potentially tuition-free degree online. More than $500 million is being invested on campus and in the University Neighborhood District (more than $140 million in private funds). The U of M set a new record for total annual fundraising with $41 million in 2019. New developments include the Laurie Walton Family Basketball Center and a pedestrian bridge over the train tracks on Southern. Rudd earned his bachelor’s degree at Princeton and holds a master’s and Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Texas.
