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.

The Music Critics Association of North America has announced that the opera 10 Days in a Madhouse is the winner of the 2024 Award for Best New Opera. Music alumna Rene Orth ’07 composed the music for 10 Days, which was commissioned by Opera Philadelphia and Tapestry Opera and had its world premiere in 2023.

Darlene Brooks, director of Barret Library at Rhodes College, is a 2024 recipient of the Excellence in Advising Award presented by the Mortar Board National College Senior Honor Society. This celebrated distinction is presented to advisors who have demonstrated a commitment to the purpose of Mortar Board and who have gone above and beyond in their work with a collegiate chapter.

Rhodes College will expand its long-established Search program with the support of a $75,000 grant from The Teagle Foundation. “Revising and Renewing the Search Program at Rhodes College” is the title of the proposal for the grant, which will be used for three academic years through June 30, 2027.

Nominees recently were announced for the 40th Ostrander Awards, honoring the best in local theater in the 2023-2024 season. The student-run Rhodes Theatre Guild received 14 nominations.

On July 27, Rhodes College will serve as the host for a community exhibition featuring science research conducted by college students and area high school students participating in summer programs at Rhodes, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

Rhodes College continues to be included in the annual Fiske Guide to Colleges, a best-selling guide to the best colleges in the United States, Canada, and United Kingdom.

L. Angela Webb, associate vice president for campus safety at Rhodes College, was sworn in as the president of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators at its annual conference held in New Orleans in June. She will serve a one-year term.

Dr. Carole Blankenship, soprano and professor and chair of music at Rhodes College, has been a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing for 30 years and has served the organization in many roles, including as president. The organization has now launched a fundraising initiative to commemorate its rich history and to name one of three prizes in the classical category of its National Student Auditions in honor of Blankenship.

Rhodes College has been awarded a one-year Capacity-Building Grant of $50,000 by Wake Forest University’s Educating Character Initiative, thanks to Lilly Endowment Inc. “We truly believe in character education at Rhodes,” said Provost Timothy S. Huebner. “A century ago, President Charles Diehl described the college as an institution ‘vitally concerned with scholarship, but . . . even more concerned with character.’ The work that our faculty will do in the next year has the potential to transform the first-year experience at Rhodes.”