Action Areas

Rhodes is committed to pursuing equity in employment representation and compensation for our colleagues across all divisions and at each level of the college and improve recruitment and retention of diverse faculty and staff.

As of November 1, 2021, 59 percent of our 327 full-time staff employees were white and 42 percent were male. African Americans comprise slightly over one-third of employees. Fewer than 4 percent of employees are Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, or multiracial persons. The representation of diverse groups across the institution and at different levels of the institution varies greatly.

The federal minimum wage and the minimum wage per hour for the State of Tennessee is $7.25. Beginning in 2019, the college set a five-year plan for increasing the minimum hourly wages for non-exempt employees to achieve a minimum of $15 per hour. We were successful in increasing the lowest non-exempt pay from $12 per hour to $15 per hour. This goal was accomplished in 2021.

The student body at Rhodes is becoming increasingly diverse. In 2010-11, non-white students comprised 21 percent of the student body. In 2019-20, they comprised one-third of the student body. Currently, the student body is approximately 63 percent white, 10 percent Black or African American, 6 percent Hispanic, 7 percent Asian, 7 percent international and 6 percent multiracial. Currently 15 percent of our student body is Pell Grant eligible and 12 percent are first-generation college students.

(As of November 2022)

Diverse leadership is crucial for ensuring that Rhodes’s inclusive excellence goals are accomplished and systematically addressed across the institution. As the college’s first female and first Jewish president, Dr. Marjorie Hass made diversifying the college’s senior leadership a priority. Inclusive searches and hiring practices have resulted in the most diverse senior leadership team and cabinet in the college’s history. Under the leadership of President Jennifer Collins, the commitment to a diverse and inclusive leadership structure continues. The nine-member senior leadership team includes seven women, three of whom are African American, and one Asian American man. The Board of Trustees has 26 voting trustees of which 10 are women and six are persons of color. Notably, the Board includes four African American men. Continued progress must be made to support and retain current leaders and to continue efforts to diversify leadership at all levels of the college and across multiple identities.

The representation of diversity among employees varies greatly within each of the administrative divisions of the college and within each level of the organization. Among white employees at Rhodes, the largest concentration (45 percent) are members of the faculty. An additional 14 percent occupy management positions and 14 percent work in community service, social services, legal affairs, or media-related areas. White employees are either under-represented or not represented at all in other occupations at Rhodes.

In sharp contrast, Black employees at Rhodes are over-represented in service-related occupations. The vast majority (65 percent) hold such occupations as campus safety and janitorial and housekeeping staff. The representation of African Americans in other areas is comparatively low – 11 percent are members of the faculty. Although numbers are quite small, occupational representation among members of other racial/ethnic groups is concentrated within the faculty (64 percent). An additional 14 percent occupy management positions and 14 percent work in community service, social services, legal affairs or media-related areas. Patterns are consistent for Asian American and Hispanic employees. All Asian employees and 78 percent of Hispanic employees are members of the faculty. 

Rhodes is committed to building a diverse faculty. In 2016, the college began an intentional effort to diversify the faculty. Since then, all search committees have included a member with responsibility for monitoring and advocating for diversity. Additionally, training has been developed to assist search committees in mitigating unconscious bias in the search process.

As of November 1, 2021, among the 187 full-time members of the faculty, 56 percent were men and 71 percent were white. Among the 110 full-time tenured faculty, 58 percent were men and 84 percent were white. In 2019, of the 185 full-time faculty (N=185), 51 percent were men and 76 percent were white. Among the 101 full-time tenured faculty, 58 percent were men and 82 percent were white. The racial/ethnic and the gender diversity of the faculty has increased steadily. In 2010, 88 percent of faculty were white; compared to 78 percent in 2019 and 71 percent in 2021-22. Our current efforts are focusing not only on recruitment but also on retention and support of faculty from underrepresented groups.

Responding to concerns raised by students and alumni over many years, Rhodes  instituted annual campus-wide anti-bias training for all faculty, staff, and students in Fall 2020. The initial training was offered as an on-line teaching and learning module to be completed at the beginning of the fall semester. Training modules include lessons on identities; understanding power, privilege and oppression; being an ally, and creating cultures of respect. Additional training will be offered throughout the academic year.

The Bias Education Response System (BERS) was implemented in 2016 as a tool for understanding the types of bias Rhodes faculty, staff and students experience. The BERS process was designed to be educational in nature and to enable Rhodes to be more intentional and systematic in its efforts to address bias and improve the campus culture for all constituents. From its inception in 2016-2017 through the 2021-22 academic year, there have been 118 reports and 89 incidents.

During the 2021-22 academic year, there were 31 bias reports. As has been the case in previous years, the majority of incidents involved students experiencing bias by other students.  One fourth involved reported acts of bias committed by faculty and staff towards students. Incidents involving staff – either as victims or as reporters were infrequent.

The most frequent offenses included verbal slurs (39%). Almost one-third of offenses involved electronic means or social media. The two most frequently cited reasons why victims were targeted were race and ethnicity (58%) and gender identity and sexual orientation (19%). Reports of bias based on age, religion, gender identity, social class and other characteristics were reported less frequently.

Reports involving faculty members described incidents where a faculty member was perceived to be unable to unwilling to adequately respond to a biased comment made by other students in a class.  Reports also included experiences of feeling unable to express dissenting opinions in the classroom, perceived unfairness of grading policies, and reports of micro-aggressive comments. 

Individuals who submitted reports were asked to identify their desired outcomes. In nearly half of the reports, the desired outcome was education, training and awareness either for the offending party or for the entire campus or constituent group. In over a third of the incidents, there was a desire for the offending party to be transformed and exhibit a change of behavior, attitude or knowledge. In only 14% of incidents was there a desire for disciplinary action or a formal investigation.

The BERS system has been helpful in raising and responding to campus incidents.  But there is a need for on-going improvement in the BERS process. Areas of current focus include: streamlining the process, ensuring that all parties understand actions that have been taken, empowering individuals to respond to incidents, and providing community based education and opportunities for dialogue.

At Rhodes College, Black lives matter. We unequivocally affirm the value and dignity of every Black life. This affirmation doesn’t diminish the value of other lives or minimize the plight of other marginalized groups. But it does fully acknowledge the specific ways anti-blackness and the perniciousness of chattel slavery and Jim Crow laws, and systemic racism historically embedded in our national state and local affairs, have shaped and continue to pervade American society and institutions. For Rhodes College, this means that we strive to meet the challenge of confronting our past and eliminating structural inequities in our present. While we have taken steps in the right direction, we are fully cognizant that the road to justice is iterative and on-going.

Rhodes College is recognized on the Honor Roll of the Campus Pride Index—the national listing of LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities. The Campus Pride Index is an overall indicator of institutional commitment to LGBTQ-inclusive policy, program and practice. The advocacy and leadership of a campus-wide LGBTQ+ working group has been essential in building this capacity and creating an agenda for positive change. Rhodes offers gender-inclusive housing for new and returning students. We are in the midst of developing better practices to support the use of chosen names and changes to sexual identity. Employee health insurance was updated in 2019 to include hormone therapy for gender dysphoria. Reviewing our insurance coverage is a current goal.

The college’s current strategic plan identifies fostering a culture of belonging as one of our four strategic action areas. The plan calls for investment in developing an inclusive campus, including the commitment that “as our student body becomes more diverse, we will build a faculty and staff reflective of that diversity.” The centrality of diversity, inclusion, and equity in our plan for Rhodes’ future is also reflected in the appointment of Dr. Sherry Turner as Vice-President for Strategic Initiatives as well as the college’s first chief diversity officer; the appointment of Dr. Justin Rose as the college’s Dean for Faculty Recruitment, Retention, and Diversity; and Jazmine Rodriguez, Dean for Equity and Engagement in the Division of Student Life. 

In 2019, under the leadership of Dr. Turner, the college began developing a three-year IDEAS plan. Incorporating priorities and strategies identified in the college’s strategic plan and over several years through mechanisms such as working groups and committees, feedback from stakeholder groups, campus climate surveys, and institutional data. The initial draft was reviewed by numerous committees and stakeholders. The Rhodes Framework for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility Strategies 2020-2024 was formally approved by the Board of Trustees on April 15, 2021. IDEAS. A report summarizing progress in year one is available.

The college has a purchasing policy that encourages representation from minority-owned, disadvantaged, and locally owned enterprises. We recently partnered with Amazon to identify purchasing options offered by small and diverse sellers. Currently, 13 percent of our purchases made via Amazon are with diverse sellers. The college is currently constructing a new residence hall, East Village C. Approximately 20 percent of the total project costs will be with minority and women-owned businesses. 

The Office of Alumni Relations supports diverse alumni by offering continued engagement, social, and career networking opportunities through the Black Alumni Chapter (BAC), the EquaLynx chapter (LGBTQ+), and a newly convened leadership group for a Latinx Alumni Chapter (2021). In partnership with Career Services, the Black Student Association and BAC, Alumni Relations is piloting an affinity mentoring program for black students, with plans to expand to other demographics in the future. The membership of both alumni leadership councils, the Alumni Association Executive Board and New Alumni Council, consists of alumni members who represent the diversity of the overall alumni body, with over 30 percent minority representation in each.

Faculty efforts to diversify the Rhodes curriculum have expanded in recent years. New academic programs include:  Africana Studies; Jewish, Islamic and Middle-Eastern Studies (JIMES); Health Equity; and Urban Education. Since 2018 all academic departments have been required to report annually about the ways that diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility are incorporated into their respective curriculum and program goals. Currently, our signature SEARCH program and the First-year Seminar are undergoing faculty-led revisions to include more diversity of thought and inclusive pedagogies into their curricula. 

The Academic Affairs office offers faculty members a variety of opportunities to develop additional skills, cultural competencies, and knowledge. Areas of focus include the ability to historically contextualize structural racism, lead difficult conversations within the classroom; engage in self-care, and become an ally. Training for faculty includes webinars and presentations on topics such as inclusive pedagogy, trauma-informed teaching, universal design, work-life balance, racial battle fatigue, and ways to practice anti-racism. An on-line resource list has recently been made available. In collaboration with the Associated Colleges of the South, Rhodes sponsors participation in an annual institute, Faculty of Color Uniting for Success, and is preparing to sponsor a series of anti-racism workshops for faculty.

In Spring 2019, Academic Affairs began to encourage faculty to form affinity groups to promote networking, mentoring, and professional development among faculty with shared backgrounds or interests. So far, groups have been established for Black, parenting, women-identified, and later-stage career faculty.

Rhodes has recently become a member of the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity, which provides faculty members with access to additional resources for support and success.

The need for appropriate physical space dedicated to multicultural organizations has been an ongoing concern for students. Our institutional priorities have been two-fold: 1) to provide support, programming and resources for students from marginalized groups and their organizations, and 2) to provide a common space that promotes visibility among our NPHC organizations.

In 2015, the college repurposed a modular building, "The Annex”, that had served as a home to Career Services and later Residence Life, as a home for VOICES, our coalition of student cultural organizations. In 2019, that structure was completely replaced and newly furnished. Students expressed concerns about The Annex, however, because of the building’s remote location and pre-fabricated construction. A new temporary space, located in Burrow Hall, was identified.

We are pleased that a new Multicultural Lodge is being built in conjunction with the construction of East Village C Residence Hall. The lodge will provide a programming, social, and resource space for students of historically marginalized identities and multicultural student organizations. The lodge is slated to open in Spring 2023.

The college currently provides spaces for other cultural organizations. During the fall of 2019, the fourth floor of Burrow Hall was repurposed and updated to create the religious life suite. This area houses the office of the college chaplain as well as programming space for registered student religious organizations. During that same semester, a new lounge area was constructed for the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) on the third floor of Burrow Hall. Additionally, a prayer room for Muslim faculty, staff, and students was created on the lower level of Barret Library.

Whereas all of the traditionally white sororities and fraternities have individual lodges, due to their size and relatively recent history at Rhodes, neither the NPHC organizations nor the new Latina sorority do. During Homecoming/Reunion Weekend in 2019 the college unveiled NPHC Banners in Middle Ground. Now, under the presidency of Jennifer Collins, the college is exploring the creation of plots representing NPHC organizations.

Rhodes provides a variety of cultural organizations that affirm the identity; promote academic, leadership, and career success; and support the needs of its diverse student body. The following student organizations support students from marginalized identity groups at Rhodes.

As the student body grows in diversity, we are identifying additional ways to support members of groups whose identities have historically been marginalized at Rhodes. As with all student organizations, new organizations may be formed out of student interest and desire to align with students who share their identities. Student Life professionals, student government representatives, and others are available to provide support to organizations that support students from marginalized identity groups.

In the fall of 2022, Rhodes College established the Advisory Group on Accessibility, Disability, and Universal Design, which reflects the college’s commitment to institutional inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility and to fostering a sense of belonging among all members of the college community, including persons with disabilities. The advisory group’s role is to ensure broad institutional input on matters relating to persons with disabilities of all characteristics at Rhodes College.  Advisory Group Update Report 9-23-2023

Approximately 23% of Rhodes students are currently registered with the Office of Student Accessibility Services for documented conditions which substantially limit one or more major life activities. Disability at Rhodes is primarily non-apparent in that the majority of these conditions are not visible.

• Learning and Attentional Disorders  
• Mental Health Impairments 
• Chronic Health Impairments 
• Mobility Impairments  
• Sensory Impairments
• Developmental Disorders
• Traumatic Brain Injuries 
• Temporary Impairments

Student Accessibility Services and a number of student organizations work to raise awareness and promote advocacy. Examples of student organizations include:

• Alliance for Disability Advocacy (ADA)
• Kinney Disability Advocates
• ASL & Deaf Culture Club
• Lynx Club
• Best Buddies

The college is committed to ensuring access to all campus buildings and events. Physical Plant, Student Accessibility Services, and Physical Environment Subcommittee of the Advisory Group for Accessibility, Disability, and Universal Design work to identify and address campus access barriers. Below are some campus access resources:

• Report an Access Barrier- Rhodes strives to prevent all barriers to access and remove existing ones through maintenance and response to reported problems. If you encounter a physical, electronic, or programmatic barrier, please complete the Report an Access Barrier Form so we may address it as quickly as possible.
• Campus Accessibility Map- Individuals who use mobility aids such as wheelchairs, scooters, canes, crutches, etc. may benefit from the Campus Accessibility Map. This resource shows accessible pathways, ramps, building entrances, restroom locations, and parking spaces.
• Lynx Cart- The Lynx Cart service provides complimentary intra-campus transportation for individuals with mobility impairments. Users should contact Campus Safety at 901-843-3880 to request an escort.

The Office of Student Accessibility Services fosters an all-inclusive campus in the following ways:

• Serving as a resource on access-related issues and ability as an aspect of diversity at Rhodes. 
• Facilitating equal access to all institutional opportunities for students with disabilities through the provision of reasonable accommodations and faculty guidance on academic accessibility.