Rudd, who in addition to her two majors will graduate with minors in history and fashion history and culture, entered
UD as a Francis Alison Distinguished Scholar, a merit-based academic
scholarship awarded to an incoming student with broad intellectual
enthusiasm for the arts, humanities and social sciences. Through the
Honors College at UD, she went on to enroll in more challenging,
rewarding courses and will receive an honors degree with distinction.
Her academic achievements have been recognized by a Woman of Promise
Award in 2018, a French Department Award of Merit in 2019, the Phi Beta
Kappa Clift and DeArmond Award in 2019 and the David J. Toman Art
Conservation Departmental Award in 2021.
In spring 2019, she placed second in the Seth Trotter Book Collecting
Contest through UD’s Library with her collection “20th Century
Mystery Adventure Series for Young Women.” Her placement enabled her to
enter the National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest, for which she
also placed second and represented UD at an awards ceremony at the
Library of Congress.
Rudd volunteered with the Historic Costume and Textile Collection and
worked for the Center for Historic Art and Design and the Conservation
Lab of the UD Library. An accomplishment for which she is most proud is
facilitating mentorship programs through the Art Conservation Club and
serving as a peer-mentor herself.
“As a small major, it is important to build a supportive community,”
she said. “The Art Conservation Club directly assists art conservation
majors academically and socially, engages the broader community, and
educates and advocates about conservation.”
Social events have included craft and game nights and museum trips.
She also worked to develop an online resource that students can access
for documents with advice on graduate school, examples of portfolios and
resumes and a list of recommendations for art conservation-related
digital media, books and webinars.
“Miriam-Helene’s leadership on campus provides a broader service to
the conservation community, providing an informal outlet and resource
for aspiring conservators,” said Nina Owczarek, assistant professor in
the Department of Art Conservation.
Rudd has also served in leadership roles for Chronic Illness Advocates and the Swing Dance Club.
“Miriam-Helene is deeply talented, very highly intelligent and a
superb ambassador for the value and impact of interdisciplinary study at
the University of Delaware,” said Debra Hess Norris, Chair and
Professor of Photograph Conservation, Unidel-Henry Francis DuPont Chair
of Fine Arts and Director of Winterthur/UD Program in Art Conservation.
“Clearly in the top 5% of all undergraduates for the past 30 years,
Miriam-Helene is organized, excited, compassionate, passionate and
extraordinarily kind — skills and attributes our world needs now more
than ever.”
Rudd will be continuing at UD as a member of the 2024 class of the
graduate Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation.