UNIVERSITY NEWS
Rudd named U of M Provost Dr. M. David Rudd has been named as the new provost of the University of Memphis, replacing longtime provost Dr. Ralph Faudree, who stepped down in August to concentrate on teaching. Rudd comes to the U of M from the University of Utah, where he was dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Science. “The University of Memphis is extremely fortunate to have attracted Dr. Rudd to our University to assume the provost position and serve as the leader of our Academic Affairs division,” U of M President Shirley Raines said. “He brings an outstanding record of successfully leading a large college at the University of Utah, while effectively expanding funding for research, scholarships and capital projects.” As dean at Utah, Rudd oversaw a college with a student enrollment of approximately 6,000, 130 full-time faculty and 100 adjunct professors, with gross revenue of more than $50 million from tuition and fees. Dr. Tom Nenon, vice provost for Assessment, Institutional Research and Reporting, had served as interim since September. “I want to thank Dr. Nenon for his service to the University as our interim provost,” said Raines. “He has been exemplary in his leadership as a member of the administrative team. He has been an invaluable asset to the U of M for more than two decades.” Dr. M. David Rudd
University appoints deans, diversity director The University of Memphis recently named two new deans and a new director of Diversity Initiatives. Peter Letsou has been appointed dean of the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, Dr. Richard Sweigard has been selected as the new dean of the Herff College of Engineering and Dr. Karen Weddle-West has been named director of Diversity Initiatives. Letsou and Sweigard will begin duties June 1. Weddle-West Peter Letsou will also continue to serve as vice provost for Graduate Programs. Letsou has been at Willamette University College of Law in Salem, Ore., since 2002, serving as dean and associate dean for the past seven years. Previously a professor and director of the Center for Corporate Law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law, Letsou also spent seven years at George Mason University School of Law. He has been a visiting law professor at the University of Connecticut and Emory University. Sweigard has been the associate dean of engineering for administration and academic affairs at the University of Kentucky since 2007, where he has also been an associate professor or professor since 4
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Dr. Richard Sweigard
Dr. Karen Weddle-West
1988. He served as chair of the Department of Mining Engineering at UK for 14 years. He has also held teaching positions at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and The Pennsylvania State University. Weddle-West joined the University of Memphis in 1989 as assistant professor in Educational Psychology and Research; she was later made an associate professor in that discipline. In 2003, following a successful tenure as associate dean for Graduate Studies in the College of Education, she became vice provost for Graduate Programs.
THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS