Noah Adisa Rudder, a fourth-year student at the University of Toronto’s Victoria College, has been named one of Canada’s eleven Rhodes Scholars for 2025. The prestigious Rhodes Scholarship will enable Rudder to pursue a Master of Public Policy at the University of Oxford, joining a global cohort of over 100 scholars.
An article in The Caribbean Camera notes that “Rudder hails from Ajax, Ontario, and is the son of Christine Rudder and renowned calypsonian David Rudder”. (see Caribbean Canadian Noah Rudder Named Rhodes Scholar for 2025 – The Caribbean Camera)
Rudder is being joined by Amy Mann, a fellow Victoria College student who’s pursuing a bachelor of science degree in mathematics and statistics. (see Changemakers: U of T students awarded prestigious Rhodes Scholarships | University of Toronto)
The University of Toronto story ‘s Rhonda McEwen, president and vice-chancellor of Victoria University, said she was “over the moon” for Rudder and Mann. “It is a true privilege to interact with this caliber of young person,” McEwen said.
The U of T article said that Rudder hopes to combine his interests in social justice and the arts by pursuing master of public policy and a master of fine arts degrees at Oxford.
The president of the Peace, Conflict and Justice Society, Rudder was instrumental in Victoria University’s signing of the Scarborough Charter, a commitment by institutions across Canada to combat anti-Black racism and foster Black inclusion in higher education. “Working with Vic’s Office of the President on the Scarborough Charter inspired me to contribute to an area that I can make an impact,” he says. “I think there are a lot of opportunities to push for spaces for Black individuals at the highest level of education.”
He has also conducted research with the World Bank’s Office of the Chief Economist, focusing on knowledge generation in African countries before 2009 – and has written for and performed in the Toronto Fringe Festival and various U of T productions.
Mann says she’s looking forward to continuing her research in mathematical biology at Oxford.
“I want to keep studying math and seeing how we can apply it to these big problems – like considering social factors of disease transmission to improve intervention strategies,” says Mann, who is the president of the U of T Mathematics Union.The U of T article also highlighted that another one of their students,