Rhodes College recently paid tribute to staff at its annual Staff Recognition Brunch, and four Rhodes employees received the college’s 2022 Outstanding Staff Awards based on nominations submitted by faculty, staff, and students. They are Sherry Sasson, Tina NeSmith, Jennifer J.B. Bone, Tina NeSmith, and Martha McGeachy.

Linda Bonnin, senior vice president for marketing and strategic communications at Abilene Christian University, has been named vice president for marketing and communications at Rhodes College. She will assume the role on July 5, after President-elect Jennifer Collins takes office. Bonnin will head the college’s newly formed Division of Marketing and Communications and serve on the Senior Leadership Team, providing high-level strategic direction to advance the visibility and reputation of the Rhodes brand and to achieve the college’s strategic objectives.

Annual awards were presented at the 173rd Commencement Exercises of Rhodes College held May 14 on campus. Natalie L. Smith received the Peyton Nalle Rhodes Phi Beta Kappa Prize. The college presented Rhodes professors Dr. Gary J. Lindquester and Dr. Michael Drompp each the Distinguished Service Medal. The 2022 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Awards were presented to graduating seniors Mi’Destini Victorian and Dulce Maria Salcedo and Christy Weir Krueger ’85 of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Mid-South.

Financial expert and community leader Vicki R. Palmer ’75 of Atlanta, GA, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree at the 173rd Commencement of Rhodes College on Saturday, May 14. Palmer is president of The Palmer Group LLC, a general management consulting company which she started after retiring from Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. in 2009 as executive vice president for financial services and administration. Her career with Coca-Cola spanned more than 25 years.

Six seniors’ portraits will be added to Rhodes College’s Hall of Fame on the second floor of Southwestern Hall. They are John Howell, Mariam Khayata, Karrington Knight, Brandon Lemus, Ava Mitra, and Rebecca Winchester. 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.

The Baccalaureate Convocation of the 173rd session of Rhodes College will be held on campus Friday, May 13, at 3:30 p.m. in the multi-sports forum of the Bryan Campus Life Center. Senior Rabbi Micah D. Greenstein of Temple Israel, which is one of the largest Reform congregations in the United States, will deliver the Baccalaureate address, titled “Terra Mater More than Alma Mater.”

Rhodes College is one of the nation’s “Best Value Colleges” for 2022, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company chose only 209 schools out of the more than 650 institutions it surveyed last academic year after analyzing data that included academic rigor, cost/financial aid, Among private schools, Rhodes made the Top 50 Best Value Colleges and Top 20 Best Schools for Internships.

Board of Trustees Chair Cary Fowler ’71 has joined the Department of State as U.S. Special Envoy for Global Food Security. The news was announced May 5 by Secretary of State Antony Blinken. According to the press statement, “Dr. Fowler will be critical to the Department’s efforts to respond to the current global food security challenges guided by the Administration’s Global Food Security Strategy 2022-2026 and Global Nutrition Coordination Plan 2021-2026.”

Once a patient at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital herself, senior Emily Hines works full-time at ALSAC, the fund-raising arm of St. Jude. Hines brings a personal perspective to communicating the story of St. Jude, while also crediting her urban studies major in helping her achieve her goals.

Gil Villanueva, associate vice president and dean of admission at the University of Richmond, has been named vice president for enrollment at Rhodes College. He will assume the role in July, when President-elect Jennifer Collins takes office, and will provide high-level strategic direction for the college’s admission, enrollment services, and financial aid operations. In addition, Villanueva will be responsible for collaboratively developing and leading a comprehensive, data-informed enrollment strategy consistent with Rhodes’ vision, strengths, culture, and values.