Miriam-Helene Rudd
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.
To read the full article and learn about the other award recipients, visit the CAS website.
