Education
Rudd earned a bachelor’s degree (BA) cum laude in psychology fromProfessional Experience
Rudd served as a faculty member at Texas A&M College of Medicine while on staff at Scott & White Clinic and Hospital, eventually earning tenure as an associate professor. In 1999, he began atUniversity of Memphis Presidency
He was named the 12th president of the University of Memphis on May 1, 2014. He completed his tenure as president on March 30, 2022, to return to faculty and his scientific research agenda, with his work in the treatment of suicidality serving as foundational in the creation of a new digital therapeutics company, Oui Therapeutics. Rudd worked in support of an autonomous governing board for the University of Memphis and in 2016, The Focus on College and University Success (FOCUS) Act was passed by the Tennessee General Assembly, allowing the university to establish a Board of Trustees. The university became the first institution of higher learning to partner with Folds of Honor to support higher education for spouses and children of American soldiers who have died during their service. Rudd founded a consortium in 2019 to encourage other universities to adopt similar programs. The University of Memphis achieved Carnegie R1 designation as a top-tier research university during his tenure, one of only nine universities nationally to move from Carnegie R2 to Carnegie R1 status in the 2021 rankings. Rudd's tenure, described as "transformative", has been marked by enrollment growth nationally, record fundraising numbers, expansion of campus infrastructure, cost-containment and significant improvement in student affordability, achieved ranking as a top-tier public university in USNWR for the first time in university history, along with increased student retention, and the highest graduation rates in university history. During Rudd's final year, the U of M Board of Trustees were one of six universities nationally to receive the Association of Governing Board's Nason Award, in recognition of "exceptional leadership". Rudd was active in leadership with the American Athletic Conference (AAC) during his tenure, serving a two-year term as vice-chair, a two-year term as chair, serving on the NCAA presidential forum for three years, and being appointed to the NCAA Board of Directors in 2021. Memphis Tiger football won the AAC Championship in 2019, went to the Cotton Bowl for the first time in program history, and hosted a well received ESPN College GameDay. A prominent national controversy during his tenure was the decision to support James Wiseman and Coach Penny Hardaway in a dispute with the NCAA regarding Wiseman's eligibility. After a contentious and long investigation, the Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP) ruled in the Tigers' and Wiseman's favor, determining that Hardaway providing $11,500 in moving expenses for the Wiseman family was not an impermissible benefit, rendering the subsequent investigation inappropriate. The University was given minimal penalties, including no post-season ban and no suspension for Hardaway. In recognition of his service to the University of Memphis, the Board of Trustees created an approximately $4M endowment for a new initiative, The Rudd Institute for Veteran and Military Suicide Prevention (https://www.ruddinstitute.memphis.edu/), which will focus on clinical service delivery and related research for active-duty military and Veterans. Rudd will direct the Institute and serve as a tenured Distinguished University Professor of Psychology. The Dr. M. David Rudd Scholarship for U.S. Military Veterans is awarded annually at the University of MemphisResearch
Rudd's research has been in the fields of suicide clinical assessment, management and treatment of suicide risk, suicide prevention and cognitive therapy. Rudd was identified as being in the top 1% of the most productive researchers globally in suicide research over the past decade by Expertscape in 2021 and his work has been cited almost 16,000 times. He is one of the creators of Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Suicide Prevention (BCBT-SP), based on his proposed "suicidal mode", which was found to reduce post-treatment suicide attempt rates by 60% in comparison to treatment as usual. He also proposed Fluid Vulnerability Theory as an explanatory model for understanding, assessing, and intervening with those at risk for suicide. Dr. Rudd's early work, including a clinical trial in the early 90's, developed and utilized crisis response planning as an alternative to "no suicide contracts", an intervention proven highly effective for those presenting with suicide risk and a precursor to the commonly used variant, safety planning. Of importance, he lead the effort to identify and implement "suicide warning signs", forming the original working group in coordination with the American Association of Suicidality and publishing the first article identifying empirically supported suicide warning signs.Professional activities
Rudd is a Diplomate of thePublications
Books
*Bryan, C.J., & Rudd, M.D. (2018). Brief Cognitive Therapy for Suicide Prevention. New York: Guilford Publishing. *Bryan, C., & Rudd, M. D. (2011). ''Suicide Risk in Primary Care.'' New York: Springer Publishing. * Conner, K., Carruth, B., Joe, S., Rudd, M. D., Teal, B. M., & Wines, J. D. (2009). ''Addressing Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors with Clients in Substance Abuse Treatment.'' Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services (SAMHSA Treatment Improvement Protocol 50). * Joiner, T. E., Witte, T., VanOrden, K., & Rudd, M. D. (2009). ''Clinical Work with Suicidal Patients: The Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicidality as Guide.'' Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Press. * Rudd, M. D., Joiner, T. E., & Rajab, M. H. (2004). ''Treating Suicidal Behavior.'' Guilford Publications: New York. * Rudd, M. D. (2006). ''Assessing and Managing Suicidality: A Pocket Guide.'' Sarasota: Professional Resource Press.Sample Peer-reviewed journal articles
* Rudd, M.D., & Bryan, C.J. (2021). The Brief Suicide Cognitions Scale: Development and clinical applications. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14 September 2021 , https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.737393. * Rudd, M.D. (2021). Recognizing flawed assumptions in suicide risk assessment research and clinical practice. Psychological Medicine, First View , pp. 1 – 2, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291721002750 pens in a new window* Rudd, M. D., Bryan, C. J, Wertenberger, E., Peterson, A., Young-McCaughan, S., Mintz, J., Williams, S., Arner, K., Breitbach, J., Delano, K., Wilkinson, E., & Bruce, T. (2015). BCBT reduces post-treatment suicide attempts. ''American Journal of Psychiatry,'' Published online: February 13, 2015. doi:Family
Rudd is married to Loretta Rudd.References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rudd, M. David Year of birth missing (living people) Living people