Rhodes College welcomes 16 new faculty to its distinguished roster for the 2024-2025 academic year, bringing talent in a number of specialties, from Africana studies to biology to music to mathematics.

Niche, a leading platform connecting students and families with colleges and schools, recently released its 2025 Best Colleges rankings, and Rhodes ranked No. 1 for Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Tennessee.

Rhodes College continues to be ranked among excellent colleges in the country. Now, the college has landed on Forbes’ 2024-2025 List of America’s Top Colleges.

Rhodes College is featured once again in The Princeton Review’s annual college guide. In the 2025 edition of The Best 390 Colleges, Rhodes ranks in the top 25 in four categories—campus beauty, Greek life, students studying the most, and best-run colleges.

“With a record number of applications received, Rhodes continues to attract some of the brightest students in the nation and abroad,” said Gil Villanueva, vice president for enrollment and dean of admission and financial aid. “We are excited to welcome the Class of 2028, one of the most academically talented and most diverse in college history.”

Dr. Mary Miller, professor of biology at Rhodes, was presented the 2024 Jameson M. Jones Award for Outstanding Faculty Service on Aug. 26 at the college’s Opening Convocation. The letters of nomination that the award committee received commended Miller’s work and described her as a fierce faculty champion, a values-driven leader, and visionary program builder.

Rhodes College President Jennifer Collins has joined the College Presidents for Civic Preparedness, a new initiative which connects leaders from institutions of higher education across the country and advances higher education’s pivotal role in preparing students to be engaged citizens and to uphold free expression on campus.

“How can we save the bees?” Dr. Kate LeCroy, assistant professor of biology at Rhodes College, is on a quest to find a solution to this pressing question. To help fund her research, she has received over $100,000 in a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture to specifically study disease dynamics and health outcomes of mason bee communities across urban, agricultural, and natural landscapes.

Rhodes neuroscience major Julian McMillian ’25 this summer participated in an American College of Physicians internship program, which is named in honor of Rhodes alum Dr. Ryan Mire ’93. The program is designed to help advance equity in healthcare by inspiring and educating college students about the wide array of impactful careers available in healthcare. “I hope this can be the beginning of a pipeline for Rhodes students to participate in this wonderful program,” said McMillian.

Jason Bishop ’98 never had formal training or lessons, couldn’t read music, and had never sung in a choir when he came to Rhodes in 1994. But his life changed when Professor Tony Lee Garner encouraged him to audition for the Rhodes Singers. Fast-forward to today, Bishop is joining the Department of Music as visiting assistant professor and choral director.