Rhodes College paid tribute to staff on May 19 with a virtual celebration, and four Rhodes employees were recognized with the college’s 2020 Outstanding Staff Awards based on nominations submitted by faculty, staff, and students. These awards recognize employees who continually strive for excellence, keeping the mission of the college in focus.

Due to the campus’ shift to remote learning, the annual Senior Thesis Exhibition in Clough-Hanson Gallery had to be cancelled. However, the work of the three senior studio art majors, Annie Grace Netterville, Ben Aquila, and Jamie Payne, won’t go unnoticed. Their works have appeared in a print publication, produced by Rhodes’ Department of Art and Art History, titled “Couple Things . . .”

Dr. Shadrack Nasong'o, professor of international studies at Rhodes, is the recipient of a 2020 Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship. Through the fellowship program, he will spend two months at Egerton University in Kenya to help develop curriculum for a master’s degree program in international relations and diplomacy and to help mentor graduate students and junior faculty in social science research methods and pedagogical strategies.

Dr. Michael Nelson, a recognized Presidential scholar and the Fulmer Professor of Political Science at Rhodes, is featured on the Transition Lab podcast, which is a behind-the-scenes look at presidential transitions.

The Summer Scholars program provides current high school students and recent high school graduates meaningful, credit-bearing pre-college experiences. Students enroll in two-week, credit bearing courses that will prepare them for college-level instruction in a liberal arts context. Small classes will be taught in a variety of subjects by Rhodes professors who are nationally and internationally recognized scholars in their fields. Students will have the opportunity to prepare for college classes by engaging in college-level work and assignments.

When the realities of COVID-19 set in and the college moved to remote learning, one of my first questions was: what now? My teaching and overall academic approach is rooted in active pedagogy, experiential learning, and collaboration, which all seemed more difficult and less relevant.

Rhodes College is offering a series of four free Zoom webinars open to the general public. These webinars will take place on Wednesday evenings, and feature panels of college and community experts who will address various aspects of the pandemic and field questions from the audience.

On March 11, Rhodes College announced its shift to remote learning. Three students reflect on how they're adjusting to a new type of classroom.

Rhodes College held a virtual celebration of the Class of 2020 on May 16. The college conferred 484 degrees in total: 313 Bachelors of Arts, 142 Bachelors of Science, 11 Masters of Arts, and 18 Masters of Science. An in-person ceremony where names will be called, and graduates hooded will be held at a date to be determined.