Dr. Kenneth Rudd

The Dental School has lost a great friend this month. Kenneth D. Rudd, DDS, died peacefully at his home in San Antonio, Texas on June 14, 2013 at the age of 97. 

Dr. Rudd was hired by the UT Health San Antonio as a tenured full professor in the department of prosthodontics and later became Associate Dean of Continuing Education. In 1993 he was awarded Professor Emeritus of that University. He continued to work at the Dental School until 2012, contributing his time as he updated the existing specifications and terminology for the American Dental Association's Dental Products Standards Development Vocabulary.

Dr. Rudd received his DDS degree in 1943 from the University of Missouri School of Dentistry at Kansas City. He then established a private practice in Kansas City, Kansas. In 1954 he joined the United States Air Force. During his 22 years of active duty service he spent 15 years at Wilford Hall, Lackland Air Force Base, serving as the Chairman of the Department of Prosthodontics, which he helped establish, and later as Director of Dental Services. He retired from the Air Force in 1975 as a full Colonel with two Legion of Merit Medals, which is the highest non-combat military award.

He authored over 50 published articles, 6 textbooks, 4 instruction manuals and was Editor of the Dental Technology section of the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. In 1986 he was awarded the honor of Texas Dentist of the Year. He was one of ten founders of the American College of Prosthodontics and also served as president of that organization. He was a diplomate and past president of the American Board of Prosthodontics. His honors and awards were quite numerous but he was most proud of being the recipient of the Ashbel Smith Professorship Award given by the University of Texas Regents. This was not a dental honor - it is awarded to the top professor in the entire University of Texas educational system.

He will be greatly missed by his friends and his colleagues, but his legacy in the field of dentistry will continue in the hearts, minds, and hands of dental clinicians around the world.

To make a contribution in memory of Dr. Kenneth Rudd, please visit https://makelivesbetter.uthscsa.edu/rudd or contact Amanda Liccione, Director of Development, School of Dentistry, at (210) 450-7093.