When M. David Rudd returns next year as faculty to the University of Memphis, he will be returning to research veteran and military suicide prevention in an institute carrying his namesake. 

The U of M board honored Rudd’s eight-year presidential tenure in its quarterly board meeting Tuesday, creating and bestowing the Rudd Institute for Veteran and Military Suicide Prevention as a home for his research.

“This institute will focus on expanding access and availability of empirically informed approaches to improving the overall well being of active duty military and America’s veterans that have served and sacrificed,” said Doug Edwards, chair of the U of M board, describing the institute as one of the “most meaningful” actions the board has taken.  

More:Rudd’s last days as U of M president are looming. This is the legacy he will leave