Rhodes College President Marjorie Hass issued the following statement regarding Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s ’94 nomination to the Supreme Court:
“At Rhodes College, we set our graduates on a path to professional success at the highest levels. Judge Amy Coney Barrett ’94 is part of that legacy as she is nominated to the Supreme Court. The college has a long history of connections to the highest court in the land. Alumnus Abe Fortas ’30 was a Supreme Court justice, Rhodes graduates have clerked for justices and serve as federal judges, and Rhodes has recently hosted both the late Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Stephen Breyer on our campus. Our mock trial team is ranked at the top of national lists.
“In a recent letter to our students and alumni, I emphasized that our long connection to the Court and the significance of this moment gives members of the Rhodes community a particular responsibility to rise to the great challenges of our time with courage and integrity.
“A Rhodes education embodies the values of critical thought, reasoned debate, the development of personal values, and the ability to engage across differences. Rhodes produces graduates in many fields who fall across a wide range of the political spectrum. As an institution devoted to excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, we are fundamentally committed to diversity, inclusion, and respect for the dignity and value of all persons. Rhodes stands in support of the rights of our students through advocacy, supportive policies, and the assertion of institutional values.”
Rhodes is a nationally ranked residential college committed to the liberal arts and sciences. Our highest priorities are intellectual engagement, service to others, commitment to diversity and inclusion, and honor among ourselves. Our students live and learn on one of the country’s most beautiful campuses, located in the heart of Memphis, an economic, medical, and cultural center, making Rhodes one of a handful of prominent liberal arts colleges in a major metropolitan area.