Undergraduate research is important for students in the Department of Chemistry at Rhodes College. The hands-on experience not only provides a learning environment other than the classroom, but also provides students opportunities to work directly with faculty and gain skills for future success. Ten students and seven faculty members of the department recently participated in the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Indianapolis, IN.

Four Rhodes employees— Robert Carey, Liz Love, Steve Brummel, and Amy Moen —received the college’s 2023 Outstanding Staff Awards at the annual Service Recognition Brunch held May 16. Staff members with 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 40 years of service also were recognized at the program held in the McCallum Ballroom. Robbie Taliaferro was recognized as the Loretta Watkins Outstanding Housekeeper and Fred Garrett was recognized as Outstanding Campus Safety Officer.

The Southern Athletic Association (SAA) announced today that Rhodes College has won the 2022-23 Commissioner’s Cup. The Cup recognizes the all-sports champion among SAA member institutions with points awarded according to each program’s finish in the regular season standings.

Walker Coleman is the recipient of the Peyton Nalle Rhodes Phi Beta Kappa Prize, the college’s highest academic honor. The 2023 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Awards were presented to Priscilla Foreman and Mia Harris, and to Dr. Timothy S. Huebner, associate provost and the Irma O. Sternberg Professor of History.

Dr. Charles W. Robertson Jr., who is a member of the Rhodes Class of 1965 and co-founder of NanoDrop Technologies Inc. (now Thermo Fisher Scientific), will receive an honorary Doctor of Science at the 174th Commencement of Rhodes College. The ceremony will be held Saturday, May 13, at 8:30 a.m. in the Hubert F. Fisher Memorial Garden on campus.

Merrick Moore originally came to Rhodes to study neuroscience, but a course on the social determinants of health changed her direction. “I came to understand the gravity of damage that occurs from systemic racism and the profit-driven healthcare system in the United States . . . From that point on, I haven’t looked back on my path as a health equity major at Rhodes.”

Six seniors’ portraits are being added to Rhodes College’s Hall of Fame on the second floor of Southwestern Hall. They are David Caddle, Priscilla Foreman, Mia Harris, Owen Lubinski, Eliana Mabe, and Mallory Mire. Selection to the Hall of Fame, which was established in 1931, is based on individual merit, leadership in student activities, service to others, and overall contributions to the campus community. Honorees are chosen by their peers.

Fikemi Aiyepeku ’23 is the first Rhodes student to secure placement at one of the big three management consulting firms, which mostly recruit from graduate programs and a narrow set of top 10 universities. She credits her liberal arts education, faculty mentors, and peer support as the driving factors behind her placement as an associate consultant at Bain & Company.

The 174th Commencement of Rhodes College will be held Saturday, May 13, at 8:30 a.m. in the Hubert F. Fisher Memorial Garden on campus. In the event of rain, Commencement will take place in the Bryan Campus Life Center. Tickets are required for seating, and the program will stream live at www.rhodes.edu.

Claire Revels Shapiro, Rhodes College’s chief human resources officer, has decided to retire after 37 years in the industry, the last 29 years at Rhodes. Her last day will be June 30.