As RSG president, Johnathan Burch’s top priority is to make Rhodes a welcoming space for all students. “I want to support a strong Rhodes community that is guided by the unique perspectives of our students, alumni, faculty, and staff, making sure that all voices are at the table, especially in this hundredth year of Rhodes in Memphis."

Rhodes College will present a panel discussion on Tuesday, Nov. 11, as part of its celebration of 100 years in Memphis this year. “Lynx to the Past: A Conversation About Rhodes’ Connections to Memphis” will feature distinguished Rhodes alumni Sally Jones Heinz ’81, president and CEO of MIFA, and Dr. Russell Wigginton ’88, president of the National Civil Rights Museum. Dr. Stephen Haynes, professor of religious studies at Rhodes, will moderate the panel, which begins at 5:30 p.m. in Blount Auditorium in Buckman Hall on campus.

Rhodes College first-year student Adaria Crutcher was one of six students nationwide recently honored by the Tommie Smith Youth Initiative at a gala held in Atlanta, GA. The initiative supports students in their educational pursuits and recognizes their efforts to serve their communities and to be advocates for youth, particularly in the areas of health and fitness.

Rhodes College has been recognized among The Wall Street Journal’s “2026 Best Colleges in the U.S.” The ranking, developed in collaboration with research firm College Pulse, names the top 500 universities and colleges in the nation, focusing on how well colleges set their students up for financial success.

Dr. Kailey Lawson, assistant professor of psychology at Rhodes College, has been selected for the SAGE Emerging Scholar Award from the Society of Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP). She will be recognized at the annual SPSP meeting to be held in February 2026 in Chicago, IL.

Dr. Michael Lamb ’04, a Rhodes College political science alumnus and 2004 Rhodes Scholar, will deliver the college’s annual Constitution Day lecture on Oct. 6. The title of the talk is “Character and the Constitution: What the Founders Can Teach Us About How to Keep Our Republic.”

Rhodes College on Sept. 27 hosted a gathering of the Multilingual Memphis Coffee Chat, a regional network that brings together educators, administrators, and community organizations working to better serve second-language learning communities.

Rhodes College students Drishti Bhatia ’26 and Anna Everly ’27 are recipients of awards from the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants after a competitive process. Bhatia is the recipient of a TSCPA scholarship. Everly is one of only five juniors in the state to receive the Calvin and Jean King Foundation Award.

Dr. Shana Stoddard, associate professor of chemistry at Rhodes College, has been selected as part of the 2025 cohort of Trailblazers by the American Chemical Society. The organization spotlights Stoddard in a special issue of its news outlet, Chemical & Engineering News, published Sept. 15. The issue features the work of scientists with disabilities and the ways they adapt their workplace to do science.

Established in 1848 in Clarksville, TN, Rhodes College moved to its current location in 1925 under the leadership of then president Dr. Charles E. Diehl. The college (then named Southwestern) opened for classes on Sept. 24, 1925. Four hundred and six students and 16 faculty walked into a Collegiate Gothic building, now known as Southwestern Hall, that laid the foundation for the beautiful campus we see today.