Rhodes alumna and diplomat MaryKay Loss Carlson ’81 has been nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of the Philippines. The nomination must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Rhodes College associate professor David Mason is the recipient of a Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowship. The distinguished Fulbright award will allow him to conduct research from May 2022 through January 2023 for his project, titled “Theatre In North India,” in affiliation with the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.

Rhodes College’ Department of Chemistry will host this summer the American Chemical Society’s Project SEED program that provides research and growth opportunities for high school students with diverse identities and socioeconomic backgrounds so they can be empowered to advance and enrich the chemical science discipline. First-time students will receive a $3,200 stipend.

The Rhodes College mock trial A team has qualified to compete in the American Mock Trial Association National Championship Tournament to be held April 8-10 in Lancaster, PA. Teams competed March 11-13 in the first weekend of the Opening Round Championship Series qualifiers to determine the top 48 advancing to the nationals.

Dr. Scott Newstok, professor of English and founding director of the Pearce Shakespeare Endowment at Rhodes College, has been granted a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award to teach and research in Spain during the 2022 fall semester at the Universidad de Murcia. The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s highly prestigious international educational exchange program.

JD Willis, a Rhodes College first-year student from Madison, AL, will perform the role of Jean-Michel in Theatre Memphis’ production of La Cage aux Folles. The musical runs March 4-27. Students enrolled in Rhodes dance courses taught by choreographer Whitney Branan this semester are planning to attend the show. “Performing for an audience brings out a unique energy that doesn’t come from anywhere else,” says Willis.

Dr. Charles McKinney, the Neville Frierson Bryan Chair of Africana Studies at Rhodes and associate professor of history, recently was appointed to the Shelby County Historical Commission. In the role, he will help to preserve the history of Shelby County, TN. Members of the commission are nominated by the Shelby County Mayor and approved by the Shelby County Commission to serve four-year terms. Votes by the commission for McKinney’s appointment were unanimous.

Last summer, Jay Chatterjee '23 served as a Policy Research Intern in Macedonia, Greece, and is excited to again intern abroad this summer in London as a recipient of a Mertie W. Buckman International Internship Award. “The Rhodes Edge is real," says Chatterjee. "That’s helped with my internships and networking. To me, it’s all about bridging the gaps. It is about learning in a smaller, liberal arts environment and then applying what we are learning in a broader, global context.”

Rhodes College is included on the list of more the 125 U.S. colleges and universities that have sent the most Fulbright U.S. Scholars and Students to study and work abroad in the 2021-2022 academic year. The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s highly prestigious international educational exchange program, and each year the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces the top producing institutions in the program.

Rhodes College faculty continuously explore topics in their areas of expertise and produce publishable work. The roundup shares some of their research and creative activity in the last three months.