Rhodes employees Brenda Webber, Amber Lewis, Lance Kimbrell, and Stephanie Chockley were recognized with the college’s 2025 Outstanding Staff Awards at the annual Service Recognition Brunch held May 23. Staff members with 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 50 years of service also were honored at the program held in the McCallum Ballroom. Robbie Taliaferro was recognized as the Loretta Watkins Outstanding Housekeeper, and Shundreka Jenkins was recognized as Campus Safety Officer of the Year.

Founded in 1776, The Phi Beta Kappa Society is America’s oldest academic honor society. Its campus chapters invite for induction the most outstanding liberal arts students at leading colleges and universities across the nation.

Recent Rhodes College graduates Katherine Buikema, Monica Nedialkova, Maya Khalife-Hamdan, and Anna Rush have been selected to receive Fulbright U.S. Student Awards for the 2025-2026 academic year. They will serve as English teaching assistants in their assigned countries. The Fulbright Program currently facilitates the exchange of students and scholars between the United States and more than 140 countries.

Hannah Meit is the recipient of the Peyton Nalle Rhodes Phi Beta Kappa Prize. The 2025 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Awards were presented to graduating seniors Hope Robinson and Sana Zein-Sabatto and Sandi George Tracy, director of career services, who is retiring this year. The college presented the Distinguished Service Medal to William M. Short ’71, associate director of library services.

Rhodes College has been ranked No. 10 in the small college category among Peace Corps’ 2025 Top Volunteer-Producing Colleges and Universities list. Five Rhodes alumni currently are serving in countries including Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, and Vanuatu.

As a member of Rhodes' first-ever cohort of Posse Scholars, health equity major Stuart Keen '25 made community service the cornerstone of his education.

The 176th Commencement of Rhodes College will be held Saturday, May 17, at 8:30 a.m. in the Hubert F. Fisher Memorial Garden on campus.

Rhodes College chemistry majors Connor Bronze ’25 (first place) and Kathleen Modder ’26 (second place) were awarded top prizes in the undergraduate research poster competition held at The University of Memphis on April 24. Rhodes students Ella Petit ’25, Lilia Fernatt ’27, Josiah Zhang ’27, and Heath Seawright ’27 also presented their research.

Six graduating seniors’ portraits are being added to Rhodes College’s Hall of Fame on the second floor of Southwestern Hall. They are Keith Adams, Shanteise Bonds, Anh Duy Hoàng, Dylan Morris, Anna Yates, and Sana Zein-Sabatto. Selection to the Hall of Fame, which was established in 1931, is based on individual merit, leadership in student activities, service to others, and overall contributions to the campus community. Honorees are chosen by their peers.

Atlanta native Marcus Gray came to Rhodes College seeking a liberal arts education with a focus on pre-law studies. His interest in different cultures and world politics led him to a major in international studies, but he soon discovered a second passion though his coursework: the people, history, and politics of Latin America. Adding a second major of Latin American and Latinx studies has allowed him to academically investigate Latin America from two unique perspectives, fueling his passion for interdisciplinary learning, inspiring his research, and encouraging him to study abroad.