After helping guide the old Museum of Science and Industry during its 10-year transformation—through various stages of fundraising, planning and design—into the California Science Center, Jeffrey N. Rudolph became its first president and chief executive officer in 1998.

Rudolph received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and his Master’s of Business Administration from Yale University.

He worked as a program analyst for the Legislative Budget Committee of the state Legislature, then was executive director of the state’s Intergovernmental Personnel Act Advisory Board. Rudolph came to what was then the Museum of Science and Industry in 1982, and served as chief deputy and managing director until 1988, when he became deputy director. In 1989 at age 34, he became executive director of the museum, replacing the embattled Don M. Muchmore, who had been under scrutiny by the state auditor and run afoul of the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) citizens advisory committee.

Shortly afterward, the museum was renamed the California Science Center, and Rudolph assumed two new titles: president and CEO.

Rudolph also serves as president of the California Science Center Foundation, the not-for-profit group that partners with the state in running the Science Center, and has been an officer of the Foundation since 1982, when it was called the California Museum Foundation. He is past chair of the American Association of Museums (AAM), having served as chair from 2004 to 2006. He has been a member of the board and vice chair of the AAM, and chaired the association’s CEO Search Committee in 2006-2007. He currently serves on the boards of the Science Museum Exhibits Collaborative and the EXPO Center. He is also a member of the California Council on Science and Technology. Rudolph conducts accreditation reviews and assessments for both the AAM and the Association of Science-Technology Centers.

Previously, Rudolph was president of the Association of Science-Technology Centers, chair of the Western Museums Association Annual Meeting, and a board member of the California Association of Museums, the National Health Science Consortium, the Organizing Committee for the World Congress of Science Centers, the Museum Trustees Association Advisory Council of Directors, and the National Academy of Science’s Defense Reinvestment Advisory Board.

An avid outdoorsman, Rudolph is a deputy patrol leader for the Squaw Valley Ski Patrol and enjoys adventure travel. His trips have taken him the rain forests in New Guinea, Borneo, Sumatra, and Bolivia.

Jeffrey N. Rudolph (California Science Center website)

Jeffrey N. Rudolph (California Science Center website, older post)