Dr. James R. Downing and Dr. Luther D. Ivory will receive honorary degrees at the 176th Commencement of Rhodes College on May 17. Downing is president and CEO of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Ivory retired in 2018 from Rhodes as an associate professor of religious studies and director of the then African American Studies Program.

Rhodes College is included in the latest updates to the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, which is the nation's leading framework for categorizing diverse U.S. higher education institutions.

While at Rhodes, English and urban studies double major Zoe Dominguez '25 has spent three years working on social justice efforts, pursued an Honors Project in English, released her first punk rock single, and fallen in love with the Memphis arts scene.

Rhodes College juniors Sandy Mansour and Kai Virani have been selected as finalists in the E-Fest® competition, hosted by the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis. Since 2017, the competition has awarded more than $1.5M dollars to undergraduate business ventures.

Hugh Ferguson’s passion for healthcare manifests itself in his courses, internships, volunteer work, and research efforts, and, in keeping with the Day Scholarship’s mission, a sincere love for the city of Memphis and its people underpins it all.

The Philosophy, Politics & Economics program at Rhodes College has been designated as a Hidden Gem by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. The Hidden Gems initiative highlights honors colleges and major, minor, and certificate programs that provide high-quality interdisciplinary education in the liberal arts. Launched in 2019, it now numbers 23 institutions spanning from coast to coast.

Dr. Gretchen E. Henderson has been named the Spence L. Wilson Distinguished Professor in the Humanities at Rhodes College following a national search. In this position, Henderson will help enhance the humanities at the college as well as serve on the advisory board of the Spence L. Wilson Center for Interdisciplinary Humanities.

Dr. Leslie Petty, professor of English and the T.K. Young Chair of English Literature, has co-edited a new book titled Voices and Visions: Essays on New Orleans's Literary History (University Press of Mississippi).

Megan Starling, director of admission at Rhodes College, received the William Starling Award for Mentoring at the annual conference of the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling held March 30-31 in Atlanta. In her tenure at Rhodes, she has held leadership roles in campus hospitality while also managing territory assignments and application/scholarship review processes. She also has supervised the entire admission team including all student employees and Rhodes Student Associates.

Dana Potter, a junior psychology major and Nolan Colladay, a senior business major, presented research at the 40th annual Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology Conference, which was held April 2-5 in Denver, CO, and brought together leading experts, researchers, and practitioners from around the globe.