Rhodes College
Rhodes College is a private liberal arts college in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Historically affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, it is a member of the Associated Colleges of the South and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Rhodes enrolls about 2,000 students, and its Collegiate Gothic campus sits on a 123-acre wooded site in Memphis' historic Midtown neighborhood.
History
The early origins of Rhodes can be traced to the mid-1830s and the establishment of the all-male "Montgomery Academy" on the outskirts of Clarksville, Tennessee. The city's flourishing tobacco market and profitable river port made Clarksville one of the fastest-growing cities in the then-western United States and quickly led to calls to turn the modest "log college" into a proper university. In 1848, the Tennessee General Assembly authorized the conveyance of the academy's property for the establishment of the "Masonic University of Tennessee".In 1855, control of the university passed to the Presbyterian Church, and it was renamed "Stewart College" in honor of its president and benefactor, William M. Stewart. The college's early growth halted during the American Civil War, during which its buildings served as a headquarters for the Union Army throughout the federal occupation of Clarksville. The war was especially costly for the young institution, as the campus suffered extensive damage and looting.
The sad condition of campus and the slow recovery of the Southern economy made getting the college back on its feet a slow and difficult process. However, renewed support from the Presbyterian Church gave the college new life. In 1875 the college was renamed "Southwestern Presbyterian University" after it added an undergraduate School of Theology under the leadership of Joseph Ruggles Wilson, father of President Woodrow Wilson; the School of Theology closed in 1917.
By the early 20th century, the college had still not fully recovered from the Civil War and faced dwindling financial support and inconsistent enrollment. Hoping to reverse the institution's fortunes, the board of directors hired Charles E. Diehl, the pastor of Clarksville's First Presbyterian Church, to take over as president.
To revive the college, Diehl implemented a number of reforms: the admission of women in 1917; an honor code for students in 1918; and the recruitment of Oxford-trained scholars to lead the implementation of an Oxford-Cambridge style of education. Diehl's application of an Oxbridge-style tutorial system, in which students study subjects in individual sessions with their professors, allowed the college to join Harvard as the only two colleges in the United States then employing such a system. During Diehl's tenure as president, he would add more than a dozen Oxford-educated scholars to the faculty, and their style of teaching would form the foundation of the modern Rhodes curriculum.
Diehl's most significant change to the college came in 1925, when he orchestrated the movement of the campus from Clarksville to its location in Memphis, Tennessee. The move provided an increase in financial contributions and student enrollment, and, despite the Great Depression and World War II, the college began to grow. In 1945, the college adopted its penultimate name "Southwestern at Memphis" in order to distinguish itself from other colleges and universities containing the name "Southwestern."
Diehl retired in 1948, and the board of trustees unanimously chose physics professor Peyton N. Rhodes as his successor. During Rhodes' sixteen-year presidency the college admitted its first Black students; added ten new buildings, including Burrow Library, Mallory Gymnasium, and the emblematic Halliburton Tower; increased enrollment from 600 to 900; founded a campus chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society; and grew the endowment to over $14 million. In 1984, the board of trustees decided the name "Southwestern" needed to be retired, and the college's name was changed to Rhodes College to honor the man who had served the institution for more than fifty years.
Rhodes has grown into a nationally ranked liberal arts and sciences college. Under the leadership of James H. Daughdrill, Jr. and William E. Troutt, the college's physical expansion continued, and Rhodes offers more than 50 majors, interdisciplinary majors, minors, and academic programs. Additionally, the school has built partnerships with numerous Memphis institutions to provide students with a network of research, service, and internships opportunities.
In July 2017, Marjorie Hass began her tenure as the 20th president of Rhodes College, and the college's first female president. She departed Rhodes in June 2021 after being named the president of the Council of Independent Colleges and was succeeded by Jennifer Collins.
Academics and reputation
The academic environment at Rhodes centers around small classes, faculty mentorship, and an emphasis on student research and writing. The average class size is 14, and the college has a 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio. In 2017, The Princeton Review ranked Rhodes #9 for Most Accessible Professors. Rhodes is featured perennially on the US News and Forbes lists of the Top 55 Liberal Arts Universities and has been hailed by Forbes as one of the Top 20 Colleges in the South. In US News 2020 edition, Rhodes is ranked No. 53 on its National Liberal Arts College Ranking and 28th college in the south on Forbes 2019 edition.Through 18 academic departments and 13 interdisciplinary programs, Rhodes offers more than 50 majors, interdisciplinary majors, minors, and academic programs. If students are unable to find a major that meets their specific interests, the college may allow them to design their own major that is better tailored to their goals. Although the college is primarily focused on undergraduate education, Rhodes also offers graduate degrees in Accounting and Urban Education.
Its most popular undergraduate majors, based on 2021 graduates, were:
- Business Administration & Management
- Biology/Biological Sciences
- Neuroscience
- English Language and Literature
- Chemistry
- Psychology
- Computer Science
- International Relations & Affairs
Graduate school placement & postgraduate scholarships
About one-third of Rhodes students go on to graduate or professional school. Rhodes is in the top 10% of all U.S. colleges for the percentage of students who earn Ph.D.s in the sciences and among the top five in the Southeast. Rhodes is also a top 10 undergraduate source of psychology Ph.D.s. The acceptance rates of Rhodes alumni to law and business schools are around 95%, and the acceptance rate to medical schools is nearly twice the national average. Additionally, Rhodes' partnership with the George Washington University School of Medicine allows Rhodes students that meet certain criteria by their sophomore year to receive a guarantee of later acceptance to the George Washington University School of Medicine.Rhodes has produced eight Rhodes Scholars, is named perennially as a "Top Producing Institution" for Fulbright Scholars, and boasts numerous Truman Scholars, Goldwater Scholars, Henry Luce Scholars, National Science Foundation Graduate Fellows, and recipients of the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship.
| Category | Ranking |
| Most Beautiful Campus | #1 |
| Students Most Engaged In Community Service | #2 |
| Town-Gown Relationships | #4 |
| Best College Library | #6 |
| Most Accessible Professors | #9 |
| Best Quality of Life | #10 |
| Best Career Services | #16 |
| Happiest Students | #18 |
Community service
More than 80 percent of Rhodes students are involved in some form of community service, and the college has the oldest collegiate chapter of Habitat for Humanity and the longest student-run soup kitchen in the country. Rhodes' Kinney Program provides students with a direct connection to service and social-action opportunities in Memphis by cultivating relationships with about 100 local partners. Additionally, the Bonner Scholars Program offers scholarships to up to 15 students per class who have a strong commitment to change-based service. Rhodes also offers Summer Service Fellowships that award academic credit to students working full-time with Memphis community organizations and non-profits.The mission statement of the college reinforces community engagement, aspiring to "graduate students with... a compassion for others and the ability to translate academic study and personal concern into effective leadership and action in their communities and the world".
Internships and research
In 2017, The Princeton Review ranked Rhodes #16 for Best Schools for Internships and #16 for Best Career Services. Students are encouraged to take advantage of Rhodes' metropolitan backdrop to participate in off-campus internships and "service learning". They are also given the opportunity to participate in a variety of research programs, such as the Summer Plus program at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the Rhodes/UT Neuroscience Fellowship, the Center for Outreach and Development of the Arts, the Mike Curb Institute for Music, the Shelby Foote Fellowship, and the Mayor's Urban Fellows Program.Rhodes also helps students obtain internships across the country and overseas. As a part of one of the oldest and largest international relations undergraduate programs in the United States, Rhodes' Mertie W. Buckman International Internship Program provides funding for outstanding students majoring in International Studies to work abroad during the summer months. In addition to the work experience, Buckman interns are provided with a stipend to use for cultural enrichment while abroad. Past students have worked for the U.S. Department of Commerce in France and Croatia, the German Marshall Fund in Belgium and Poland, taught English through nonprofit organizations in Cambodia, and helped a U.S. firm set up operations in China. Additionally, the Political Science Department offers semester programs in Washington, D.C.