Rhodes College, established in 1848 in Clarksville, TN, and a nationally recognized liberal arts and sciences institution, is celebrating 100 years in Memphis, TN. The college moved to its current location under the leadership of then president Dr. Charles E. Diehl, and classes began on Sept. 24, 1925, with 406 students and 16 faculty. In recent history, Rhodes has enrolled approximately 2,000 students each year. Students admitted for fall 2025 hail from 45 states plus the District of Columbia and 64 countries, with 20 percent of this year’s entering class coming from Memphis and Shelby County.
Not only did the relocation place the beloved institution in a city with increased access to students and resources, but also it offered the chance to plan and construct an entire campus from the ground up. Diehl himself selected the Collegiate Gothic architectural style for the new campus. “Appropriate and beautiful surroundings will have a transforming influence upon generation after generation of students and upon the very character of the institution itself,” said Diehl. “Beauty, like truth and goodness, needs to be expressed.”
Each new building has continued to incorporate the Collegiate Gothic design, using the same Arkansas fieldstone, Indiana limestone, and Vermont slate as the first building on campus. Majestic oak trees grown from seedlings taken from the school’s original location in Clarksville are also a part of the landscape today. Rhodes has stacked up campus beauty accolades, and noted one travel editor, “You feel like you could be at a castle, rather than a college.”
Rhodes also has woven itself into the fabric of the city and region, and outside of the campus students are fulfilling the Rhodes Vision of having “a compassion for others, and the ability to translate academic study and personal concern into effective leadership and action in their communities.”
Students have participated in neighborhood development and revitalization, tutored and mentored local children and teens, worked with residents at retirement communities, volunteered at free legal aid and tax preparation centers, planted community gardens, provided resources for persons experiencing homelessness, delivered food to shut-ins, taught college classes to prison inmates, assisted faculty in teaching college courses to incarcerated persons, organized educational and advocacy events, hosted community festivals, and documented and preserved community history and stories, among other activities.
Souper Contact is the Tuesday soup kitchen that has been led by Rhodes student volunteers at St. John’s United Methodist Church since 1988. The college’s Kinney Program has been around since the 1950s, allowing students to volunteer at local organizations and support their passions such as the arts, healthcare, and the environment.
Rhodes is located in the Vollintine-Evergreen neighborhood, and students have actively engaged with its community association as well as with members and stakeholders in the Midtown North community. Located across from Rhodes are the Memphis Zoo and Overton Park, where faculty and students study animal behavior and care, reproductive physiology, conservation, and ecology.
“We are so incredibly grateful for our location in the vibrant and wonderful city of Memphis and look forward to strengthening and deepening our partnerships with the city for generations to come,” said Rhodes President Jennifer Collins.
There’s no question that the college benefits from its Memphis location, which has contributed to student success. Students prepare for effective leadership through research fellowships and internships at world-famous organizations in Memphis such as FedEx, Stax Museum of American Soul Music, AutoZone, the National Civil Rights Museum, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Rhodes students have acceptance rates into medical school and other post-graduate health professions programs well above the national average and the college has formed partnerships for work, service, and research with other Memphis health institutions including Baptist Memorial Health Care, the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Regional One Health, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Church Health, and the Wellness and Stress Clinic.
Rhodes’ location in Memphis also offers students access to a large legal community, and the college has a long history of successfully sending graduates to law school. Alumni have become prominent attorneys and have held legal positions including judgeships and in local, state, and national government. Two alumni of the college have served on the U.S. Supreme Court, including Abe Fortas ’30, a Memphis native.
Some students choose Rhodes for the arts, and the college has a professional gallery that hosts exhibitions of contemporary art and provides opportunities for students to display their works. The Mike Curb Institute for Music offers programming for students to learn the business side of music as well as showcase their talents, earning the school a Top Music Business School designation from Billboard magazine. Students are supported in presenting award-winning theatrical performances and have a wealth of opportunities to connect their learning with the local art scene.
As a result of working in the community, students bring back valuable experiences to campus for processing and reflection. They work in concert with faculty on creative activity and innovative research, review data, publish articles, and make presentations at national conferences and festivals. They develop as perceptive thinkers, creative problem solvers, and lifelong learners.
As one of the few selective liberal arts colleges located in a major city, Rhodes actively recruits students who will respond positively to all that Memphis offers with scholarship programs such as the Clarence Day Scholars and the Bonner Scholars.
Other initiatives and programs the college has established to make an impact in the local community include The Lynne and Henry Turley Memphis Center for Community Engagement, Rhodes Institute for Regional Studies, Rhodes Impact Summer Fellowship, and Spence Wilson Center for Interdisciplinary Humanities. The Meeman Center for Lifelong Learning extends Rhodes’ focus on the liberal arts and sciences to anyone curious and excited to learn through continuing education opportunities.
Rhodes has become a place like no other, where students meet the demands of rigorous academics, work with faculty mentors, discover and cultivate lifelong passions, and take what they have learned into the world to make a difference. This student success has been enhanced thanks to the support of staff, alumni, trustees, donors, and college partners. Many Rhodes graduates who remain in Memphis make notable contributions.
On Oct. 23, the public is invited to Rhodes Night at the Shell 2025. The college’s anniversary concert begins at 7 p.m. in the Overton Park Shell. Headlining the event is trumpeter, composer, jazz historian, and author Muneer Nasser. Come celebrate Rhodes’ 100 Years in Memphis!