Erika Pope, musical arts coordinator for the Rhodes Department of Music, was elected this summer to serve as the 39th National President of Tau Beta Sigma for the 2021-2023 biennium. Tau Beta Sigma is a co-educational National Honorary Band Sorority that has been dedicated to college and university band programs on more than 135 campuses for the past 75 years.
As a Life Member of the organization, Pope has served in numerous capacities, including overseeing committee activities and facilitating educational workshops. She was the district counselor for the Southwest District of Tau Beta Sigma from 2009 until being elected to the TBS National Council in 2015.
Pope earned a bachelor’s degree in mass media with a minor in music from Henderson State University, and she plays drums for various bands in both Memphis, TN, and Little Rock, AR.
Dr. Carole Blankenship, chair of the Rhodes Department of Music, is finishing up a two-year term as president of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, which is made up of more than 7,000 voice specialists nationally and internationally. She has served this group on the Board of Directors for eight years and will serve two more as past president beginning in July.