About Rudman
Florence Rudman was a woman of grace and beauty whose love for children was expressed in the 50 years she spent as an elementary school teacher in Illinois and Michigan.

Florence passed away in April 1999. To honor her and her life's work, her husband and longtime College of Education professor, Dr. Herbert Rudman, has established The Florence Rudman Endowed Scholarship in Early Childhood Education. The first awards from the endowment was made in April 2000.

To those who knew her, Florence Rudman was the consummate teacher, yet more than that. Dr. Rudman said it was Florence who inspired him to go to college after World War II, and helped him pursue a career in academe. She instilled in her daughter the belief that she could pursue whatever career she wanted. Her daughter is now a deputy school superintendent.

Florence's colleagues, too, always knew they could go to her for help and advice, whether it was the school custodian or a fellow teacher. Her caring and commitment to teaching began when she received her baccalaureate degree from the National College of Education in 1942. She earned a Master of Arts degree in 1961 from MSU.

In 1983, in preparation for her study leave at the Gesell Institute at Yale University, she wrote about the relationship between early childhood education and the entire K-12 structure of the educational process.

"I have always viewed my role as a kindergarten teacher as one of a concerned educator whose professional interests and concerns span the entire twelve year academic program, a program that would impact upon the children I teach," she wrote. "I have always tried to stay abreast of the issues and developments in the specific field of early childhood education while at the same time remaining sensitive to the broader dimension of the educational process."

After she retired from the East Lansing Public Schools in 1992, Florence became a docent at the MSU Museum, and a member of the Sparrow Hospital gift shop.

The Florence Rudman Endowed Scholarship in Early Childhood Education is intended to encourage students who have a commitment to early childhood education and who plan a career teaching at the K-2 level. Candidates must be students in the College of Education who are beginning their fifth-year internship in early childhood education.

Initially, two awards of $1,000 were made from the endowment.