Three annual alumni awards, presented annually at Alumni Convocation during Homecoming and Reunion Weekend are announced. Chloe Hakim-Moore ’16 is recipient of the 2020 Young Alumni Award, Melanie A. Hillard ’92 has been selected as the 2020 Black Student Association Distinguished Alumni Award, and Allen Reynolds ’60 is the recipient of the 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award.

Four Rhodes College seniors are competing for the prestigious Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, which provides a $36,000 grant for purposeful, independent exploration abroad in 2021. If selected, fellows execute their conceived projects by traveling outside the United States for one year. They are Gunner Smith, Vindhyaa Pasupuleti, Hannah Johns, and Jacob Fontaine.

Spanish 102 students continue Rhodes’ tradition of observing the Day of the Dead by creating the traditional altars, called ofrendas, in their own homes, adding a layer of meaning and importance during this time of separation.

Dr. Kiren Khan, assistant professor of psychology, has been supervising a team of Rhodes students on research related to the Summer Success kindergarten readiness program she co-developed with researchers at The Ohio State University and implemented in Memphis across the previous two summers. Four psychology majors who are members of Khan’s Language and Literacy Lab were involved in summer 2020 research. They are Taylor Duncan ’21, Eraine Leland ’21, Meredith Schoel ’21, and Leticia Rosas ’22.

Anna Laymon '11 serves as the executive director of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, a federal agency charged with celebrating and commemorating the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote.

A new book by Professor of History Dr. Jeffrey H. Jackson has been selected for the longlist for the 2021 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, which is a joint initiative of Carnegie Corporation of New York and the American Library Association. Only 46 books were chosen. The book is titled Paper Bullets: Two Artists Who Risked Their Lives to Defy the Nazis.

Rhodes College alumna Amy Coney Barrett ’94 was confirmed to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States on October 26, 2020. Barrett graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in English and was selected by fellow students to be inducted into the Rhodes Student Hall of Fame.

Carly Goeman and Kelsey Hope, both attorneys and members of the Rhodes Class of 2011, participated in mock trial while students. Goeman captained teams, and Hope even went on to compete during law school. Now the two have relied on relationships formed during their college mock trial experiences to get a new video series off the ground, branded as Ask The Experts.

Dr. Trimiko Melancon, associate professor of English and Africana studies, and Karl Erickson, assistant professor of art and art history, will have their films featured at the annual Indie Memphis Film Festival to be held Oct. 21-29. In its new form, the film festival will feature virtual screenings and outdoor screenings.