Dr. James R. Downing and Dr. Luther D. Ivory will receive honorary degrees at the 176th Commencement of Rhodes College on May 17.
Named president and CEO of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in 2014, Downing is leading the institution’s $12.9 billion six-year strategic plan, the largest investment in its more than 60-year history to advance the study and treatment of pediatric cancer and other catastrophic diseases.
Ivory retired in 2018 from Rhodes as an associate professor of religious studies and director of the African American Studies Program. An ordained minister and a dynamic speaker, he has encouraged students to fulfill the Rhodes Vision by transitioning their academic studies into “effective leadership and action in their communities and the world.”
Downing will receive the honorary Doctor of Science, and Ivory will receive the honorary Doctor of Humanities. President Jennifer Collins will preside over the ceremony (tickets required for guests), which will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the Hubert F. Fisher Memorial Garden on campus.
“We are delighted to honor these distinguished individuals for their leadership, dedication to their professions, and service to Rhodes College,” said Collins. “Their contributions have impacted communities and enriched the lives of countless individuals.”
More about the honorees:
Downing earned undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Michigan. He joined St. Jude in 1986 after training in anatomic pathology at Washington University in St. Louis and completing a fellowship in hematopathology at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Downing served as St. Jude’s scientific and deputy director and as an executive vice president in the organization. Downing’s work as a genome sequencing pioneer, overseeing the Pediatric Cancer Genome Project, was recognized in 2012 by TIME magazine as one of the Top 100 new scientific discoveries. That landmark project to uncover the genetics underlying why childhood cancer arises, spreads and resists treatment has ushered in a decade of discoveries that continue to benefit pediatric patients. Downing has received numerous honors including election to the National Academy of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Downing has a strong connection with Rhodes as a parent, as a member of the Board of Trustees, and as a strong advocate of the St. Jude Summer Plus Program, in which Rhodes undergraduates work and conduct research alongside St. Jude physicians.
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Ivory’s life changed at the age of 15 after hearing Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I've Been to the Mountaintop” speech at Mason Temple in Memphis, which inspired him to become a scholar on King’s teachings. He earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and doctorates from Union Theological Seminary and Emory University. He also served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy.
After joining the Rhodes faculty in 1997, Ivory became beloved by both his peers and his students. His courses in the religious studies and Africana studies programs spoke to his deep knowledge of social issues in America and religion, covering everything from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement to theology and ethics. He was a key player in developing and growing Rhodes’ now Africana Studies program. In 2012, the college presented him the Clarence Day Award for Outstanding Teaching.
In addition to teaching, Ivory is the author of Toward a Theology of Radical Involvement: The Theological Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and The Rhythm of Discipleship.