Dr. Caki Wilkinson, professor of English and director of creative writing at Rhodes College, is the recipient of the 2026 Aiken Taylor Award for Modern American Poetry, presented by the Sewanee Review at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn. She will be honored at a celebration in October at the college, which will include lectures on her poetry by writers Alice Bolin and Daniel Hornsby.

Rhodes College once again is hosting the annual Albertine Cinémathèque French Film Festival, which will take place Sept. 15 through Oct. 2, 2026.The festival is supported by a grant from Albertine Cinémathèque, which aims to bring contemporary French cinema to American college and university campuses. Rhodes is one of two institutions in Tennessee to receive the grant for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Rhodes College has been ranked as the No. 1 Best Liberal Arts College in Tennessee in Niche's "2027 Best Colleges in America." Additionally, it holds the No. 41 position among Best Liberal Arts Colleges nationwide.

Aliza Moran, international education advisor at Rhodes College; Melissa Andrews, theater coordinator; and Whitney Branan, dance instructor, achieved notable success at the Ostrander Awards, which celebrated the best in local theater for the 2025-2026 season.

Rhodes College has been awarded a grant from the Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Charitable Foundation to support the 2026-2027 performance season by Rhodes Theatre Guild (RTG). The student group selects each season’s shows, which are performed at the McCoy Theatre on the Rhodes campus.

The Spence L. Wilson Center for Interdisciplinary Humanities at Rhodes College will host a free public lecture titled “Is a River Alive?” on Thursday, Oct. 1, by Dr. Robert Macfarlane, professor of literature and the environmental humanities in the Faculty of English at the University of Cambridge.

Dr. Sarah E. Rollens, associate professor of religious studies at Rhodes College, has been awarded First Place in the “Scripture-Academic Studies” category of the 2026 Catholic Media Association’s Book Awards for her book titled Judeophobia and the New Testament: Texts and Contexts.

Rhodes College's Tau Delta chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha, the national political science honor society, has been recognized with a Best Chapter Award for 2025-2026. Prof. Thomas Goodman is the chapter advisor.

This summer, 17 fellows participated in the Rhodes Institute for Regional Studies (RIRS), one of the college’s innovative programs where students capitalize on their liberal arts education and explore Memphis and the Mid-South through research. It operates under the auspices of the Lynne & Henry Turley Memphis Center for Community Engagement.

Exciting news! Rhodes College is proud to be one of 65 colleges and universities awarded a $10,000 College Service Grant from The Allstate Foundation. This funding will support the college’s youth-led, youth-driven service initiatives, empowering students to create real change in the community.