OXFORD, Miss. \u2013 From an early age, Jerry Rudman let everyone know he would attend the University of Mississippi. When he died in March 2009, his family members knew they would create a scholarship to remember the enthusiastic alumnus and to help others pursue college degrees.<\/p>\n
\u201cJerry always loved Ole Miss,\u201d said his mother, Iris Rudman Smith of Brookhaven. \u201cHaving his name on an Ole Miss scholarship is so appropriate. His career took him across the country and around the globe. He always talked about meeting fellow alumni in his travels and how the Ole Miss connection meant instant friendship.\u201d<\/p>\n
To pay tribute to his life and his affection for the university, Rudman\u2019s family has endowed the Jerry Rudman Memorial Scholarship fund. Besides Smith, others contributing to the fund benefiting Brookhaven High School students are his siblings, Judith Rudman of Brookhaven, Suzanne Rudman Brooks of Georgetown, Texas, and J.D. Rudman and Dr. Joel Rudman of Navarre, Fla.<\/p>\n
Jerry Rudman\u2019s father, the late Jerry T. Rudman, owned and operated a CPA firm in Brookhaven for 41 years. Smith was the firm\u2019s office manager for 24 years and then served 19 years as city clerk in Brookhaven. All five of the Rudman siblings graduated from Brookhaven High School, and Smith said the family\u2019s ties there played a role in their decision to designate the scholarship for BHS students.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wanted to give back to people who have been part of our lives, as we remembered Jerry\u2019s life with this scholarship fund,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe believe Jerry would be very proud that the scholarship fund will help Brookhaven High School students who want to earn degrees at Ole Miss. His wish would be for them to have the positive college experience that he did. He loved every part of Ole Miss and made a point of traveling back to campus and keeping in touch with college friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
UM Provost Morris H. Stocks said he appreciates the value the family places on education.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are deeply grateful to Jerry Rudman\u2019s family for choosing to memorialize his life by providing educational opportunities to deserving young people,\u201d Stocks said. \u201cScholarships are a way of investing in the future, as well as a means of strengthening our university. The gains we have made in our ability to recruit strong students and offer them a world-class education from the best faculty would not be possible without the private support from those who care about Ole Miss.\u201d<\/p>\n
Growing up, Rudman attended St. Francis of Assisi in Brookhaven before graduating from Brookhaven High School. He was an Eagle Scout in Boy Scout Troop 119.<\/p>\n
Rudman earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in accountancy from Ole Miss in 1982. Before he graduated, he accepted an offer to become an accountant with Texas Eastern Oil Co. in Houston and later became associated with Johnson & Johnson, where he worked for 10 years. He then joined GlaxoSmithKline, where he had been promoted to vice president of the Center of Excellence for Clinical Study-Cardiovascular and Metabolism. He resided in New Hope, Pa.<\/p>\n
The scholarship is open to Brookhaven High School students. Recipients will be chosen by a university committee, when the date of the first applications is determined. The scholarship is open for all majors, and recipients must maintain a minimum 3.0 grade-point average.<\/p>\n
Smith \u2013 who has two other children who graduated from Ole Miss and another from the Air Force Academy \u2013 said she wants future scholarship recipients to know about her son\u2019s work ethic and how it impacted his career success.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll his life, Jerry always worked at something,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen he was in high school, he bagged groceries and learned to operate the cash register at one store, and when he was older, he worked for his father in his CPA firm. Our whole family believes in a strong work ethic.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Jerry Rudman Memorial Scholarship fund is open for gifts from individuals and organizations. To contribute, go to http:\/\/www.umfoundation.com\/makeagift<\/a>, call 800-340-9542, or mail checks to the University of Mississippi Foundation at P.O. Box 249, University, MS, 38677.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"