[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 48 (Thursday, March 17, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H3781]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  RECOGNIZING THE LEGACY OF DAVID RUDD

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Kustoff) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KUSTOFF. Madam Speaker, I rise today to talk about the legacy of 
David Rudd, who is retiring as the president of the University of 
Memphis.
  Dr. David Rudd came to the University of Memphis in 2013 as the 
provost for the university. He had previously served as the dean of the 
College of Social and Behavioral Science and scientific director of the 
National Center for Veterans Studies at the University of Utah.
  President Rudd succeeded Dr. Shirley Raines as president and Brad 
Martin as interim president of the University of Memphis, becoming the 
University of Memphis president in 2014.
  The University of Memphis has a student population of around 22,000 
students, with 17 bachelor's degrees in more than 250 areas of studies, 
master's degrees in 54 subjects, doctoral degrees in 26 disciplines, 
and graduate certificate programs in 44 areas of study. The University 
of Memphis also has one of the finest law schools in the southeast 
United States.
  No matter your alma mater, one thing most can agree on is that it is 
extremely challenging leading a school of higher education today, 
especially in the era of COVID.
  With that said, the University of Memphis has flourished under David 
Rudd's tenure as president. There have been a number of major 
accomplishments during this time. Maybe the most significant 
achievement during the David Rudd era is the University of Memphis 
obtaining the research classification known as R1 by the Carnegie 
Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. For the first time 
in its history, this puts the University of Memphis in the top tier of 
research universities across the Nation.
  I asked my friend, Doug Edwards, the chairman of the Board of 
Trustees of the University of Memphis, about David Rudd. Doug told me: 
``David Rudd is a transformative leader who has had a profound impact 
on the University of Memphis. He has elevated the stature of the 
university to that of the second flagship university in Tennessee and a 
top-tier research institution.''
  Soon Dr. Rudd will take a well-deserved sabbatical from his 
leadership and administrative duties. When he comes back to the 
University of Memphis in the next year, he will return to teaching and 
research as a distinguished professor of psychology and will run the 
new Rudd Institute for Veteran and Military Suicide Prevention at the 
University of Memphis.

  The institute is appropriately named. As a veteran of the Gulf war 
and a former Army psychologist, David Rudd is one of the Nation's 
leading experts on suicide prevention among our Nation's veterans.
  We wish the utmost best to him and his wife, Dr. Loretta Rudd, 
herself a distinguished educator and researcher in higher education.
  On behalf of the many alumni and residents of the Eighth 
Congressional District of Tennessee, Roberta and I congratulate, 
salute, and honor David Rudd for his remarkable and outstanding tenure 
as the president of the University of Memphis.

                          ____________________