Students enrolled in Prof. Scott Newstok’s Special Topics seminar in the fall of 2021 became intimately acquainted with Michel de Montaigne, a revolutionary writer and thinker and one of Shakespeare’s major influences. In conceiving the course, Newstok approached Associate Director of Barret Library William Short to see whether they could create a curatorial experience for the students, focusing on themes in Montaigne's writing. The successful exhibition in Barret Library brought the writer to life for both the students and spectators.

The audience kept coming until no seats were left in McCoy Theatre for Rhodes Theatre Guild’s (RTG) production of Little Women: The Musical April 1-3. “Thanks to everyone’s dedication to the project, we were able to put this show together after only three and a half weeks of rehearsals!" says RTG President Annalee McConnell ’22. “It was an honor to perform on the McCoy Theatre mainstage for three sold-out performances, and I think the success of the show is really a testament to the talent of this group of artists and the love of theater that persists on campus.”

Not only is senior English major Caitlin Evans the Rhodes Student Associate of the Year, but also she is being recognized as a Student Employee of the Year by the Southern Association of Student Employment Administrators and by the National Student Employment Association.

Elliott has been a Le Bonheur Summer Plus Research Fellow since his sophomore year. “I was immediately drawn to the Le Bonheur program,” says Elliott. “It offers a full clinical experience that concludes with the completion of a research project, so it’s an amazing opportunity for students in any discipline on the pre-med track.” In December, he was invited to the annual American Epilepsy Society conference in Chicago to present his clinical research project on the anti-seizure medication cenobamate—the first Rhodes student to attend the event.

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

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.