James Earl Rudder

While on the subject of people that have made significant contributions to TAMU, James Earl Rudder is one of those individuals. Rudder was a 1932 graduate of TAMU and commissioned into the US Army. On June 6, 1944 as a Lt.Col., he led a company of 225 Army Rangers in the assault at Pointe Du Hoc in the D-Day Invasion of France. He and his troops faced 90 foot cliffs heavily protected by German fire. His mission was virtually impossible but with incredible bravery, they succeeded in taking the location, though only 90 men survived the assault. He continued his role in WW II, including the Battle of the Bulge, to its end. 

After the war, he was a leader in private and public roles before becoming the 16th president of TAMU in 1959. He made the decision to transition A&M from an all-male military university to what you see today - corps optional, women, and integration. That decision was not received well by many/most former students but he knew it was needed for A&M to become world class. He died suddenly of a brain hemorrhage in 1970 while still president of A&M. Rudder Tower is the tall building next to the MSC and his statue is on the North side of that building.

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