{{Short description|Private college in  Memphis, Tennessee, US}}
{{for|the university in South Africa|Rhodes University}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox university
 | name         = Rhodes College
 | former_names = {{collapsible list|
* Masonic University of Tennessee (1848–1855)
* Stewart College (1855–1875)
* Southwestern Presbyterian University (1875–1924)
* Southwestern, The College of the Mississippi Valley (1924–1945)
* Southwestern at Memphis (1945–1984)<ref>{{cite web |title=Historical Timeline |url=https://www.rhodes.edu/about-rhodes/college-history/historical-timeline |website=www.rhodes.edu |publisher=Rhodes College |access-date=30 October 2023}}</ref>
}}
 | image        = Rhodes College seal.svg
 | image_size   = 150
 | motto        = ''Truth, Loyalty, Service''
 | president    = [[Jennifer Collins]]
 | type         = [[Private college|Private]] [[Liberal arts colleges in the United States|liberal arts college]]
 | established  = {{start date and age|1848}}
 | city         = [[Memphis, Tennessee]]
 | country      = U.S.
 | coordinates  = {{coord|35.1558|-89.9910|display=inline,title|type:edu}}
 | students     = 1,952 (fall 2023)<ref name="College Navigator - Rhodes College">{{Cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Rhodes+College&s=all&id=221351|title = College Navigator - Rhodes College}}</ref>
 | undergrad    = 1,937 (fall 2023)<ref name="College Navigator - Rhodes College">{{Cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Rhodes+College&s=all&id=221351|title = College Navigator - Rhodes College}}</ref>
 | postgrad     = 16 (fall 2023)<ref name="College Navigator - Rhodes College">{{Cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Rhodes+College&s=all&id=221351|title = College Navigator - Rhodes College}}</ref>
 | faculty      = 186 full-time and 40 part-time (fall 2023)<ref name="College Navigator - Rhodes College">{{Cite web|url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=Rhodes+College&s=all&id=221351|title = College Navigator - Rhodes College}}</ref>


| | endowment = $448.5 million (2025)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/nacubo1-nacubo-prd-dc8b/media/Nacubo/Documents/EndowmentFiles/2025-NCSE-Endowment-Market-Values-for-US-and-Canadian-Institutions-FINAL.xlsx |title=U.S. and Canadian 2025 NCSE Participating Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2025 Endowment Market Value |publisher=National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) |access-date=February 19, 2026 |format=XLSX}}</ref>

 | campus          = Urban, {{convert|123|acre}}
 | colors          = {{color box|#EF3A41}}&nbsp;{{color box|#000000}}  Cardinal & black
 | sporting_affiliations = [[NCAA Division III]], [[Southern Athletic Association|SAA]]
 | sports_nickname = Lynx
 | mascot          = Leroy
 | academic_affiliations = {{unbulleted list
|[[Annapolis Group]]
|Oberlin Group
||[[Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges|CLAC]]
||[[Associated Colleges of the South]]
|[[National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program|Space-grant]]
}}
 | website         = {{URL|https://www.rhodes.edu/| rhodes.edu}}
 | logo            = Rhodes College logo.svg
 | logo_size       = 200
}}

'''Rhodes College''' is a [[Private college|private]] [[Liberal arts colleges in the United States|liberal arts college]] in [[Memphis, Tennessee]], United States. Historically affiliated with the [[Presbyterian Church (USA)]], 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, Memphis|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]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Southwestern at Memphis 1848–1948|last=Cooper|first=W. Raymond|publisher=John Knox Press|year=1949|location=Richmond, VA}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":1" /> In 1848, the [[Tennessee General Assembly]] authorized the conveyance of the academy's property for the establishment of the Masonic University of Tennessee.<ref name=":1" />

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.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Southwestern at Memphis 1848–1948|last=Cooper|first=W. Raymond|publisher=John Knox Press|year=1949|location=Richmond, VA}}</ref> The college's early growth halted during the [[American Civil War]], during which its buildings served as a headquarters for the [[Union army|Union Army]] throughout the federal occupation of Clarksville.<ref name=":2" /> The war was especially costly for the young institution, as the campus suffered extensive damage and looting.<ref name=":2" />

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.<ref name=":2" /> However, renewed support from the Presbyterian Church gave the college new life.<ref name=":2" /> 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 [[Woodrow Wilson|President Woodrow Wilson]]; the School of Theology closed in 1917.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Rhodes 150: A Sesquicentennial Yearbook|last=Wood|first=Bennett|publisher=August House Publishers, Inc.|year=1998|isbn=0-87483-538-0|location=Little Rock, Arkansas|pages=28; 41–42}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=College History {{!}} Rhodes College |url=https://www.rhodes.edu/about-rhodes/college-history |access-date=2026-08-03 |website=www.rhodes.edu}}</ref>

By the early 20th century, the college had still not fully recovered from the Civil War and faced dwindling financial support and inconsistent enrollment.<ref name=":2" /> 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.<ref name=":2" />

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.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book|title=Celebrating the Humanities: A Half-Century of the Search Course at Rhodes College|last=Nelson|first=Michael|publisher=Vanderbilt University Press|year=1996|isbn=0-8265-1282-8|pages=10}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":03" /> 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.<ref name=":03" />

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 Clarksville campus forms part of the grounds of [[Austin Peay State University]]).<ref name=":2" /> 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.<ref name=":2" /> In 1945, the college adopted its penultimate name, Southwestern at Memphis, in order to distinguish itself from [[Southwestern University (disambiguation)|other colleges and universities]] containing the name Southwestern.<ref name=":2" />

Diehl retired in 1948, and the board of trustees unanimously chose physics professor Peyton N. Rhodes as his successor.<ref name=":2" /> During Rhodes' sixteen-year presidency the college admitted its first Black students; added ten new buildings, including Burrow Library, Mallory Gymnasium, and the emblematic [[Richard Halliburton|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.<ref name=":2" /> 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.<ref name="TN3">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=1124|title=Rhodes College|author=Michael Nelson|encyclopedia=[[Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture]]|access-date=2009-08-09}}</ref>

Rhodes has grown into a nationally ranked liberal arts and sciences college.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.rhodes.edu/content/what-others-say-about-rhodes|title=What Others Say About Rhodes|last=|date=2015-01-04|work=Rhodes College|access-date=2017-12-26|language=en|archive-date=2017-12-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222105910/http://www.rhodes.edu/content/what-others-say-about-rhodes|url-status=dead}}</ref> Under the leadership of [[James H. Daughdrill, Jr.]] (president from 1973 to 1999) and [[William E. Troutt]] (president from 1999 to 2017), the college's physical expansion continued, and Rhodes offers more than 50 majors, interdisciplinary majors, minors, and academic programs {{as of|2015|lc=y}}.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www-dev.rhodes.edu/content/majors-minors|title=Majors & Minors|last=|date=2015-07-26|work=Rhodes College|access-date=2017-12-26|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226131224/http://www-dev.rhodes.edu/content/majors-minors|archive-date=2017-12-26|url-status=dead}}</ref> Additionally, the school has built partnerships with numerous Memphis institutions to provide students with a network of research, service, and internships opportunities.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=http://www.commercialappeal.com/story/news/education/2017/05/26/troutt-leaves-legacy-service-focus-diversity-rhodes-college/321951001/|title=Troutt leaves legacy of service, focus on diversity at Rhodes College|work=[[The Commercial Appeal]]|access-date=2017-12-26|language=en|last=Pignolet|first=Jennifer L|date=2017-05-26}}</ref>

In July 2017, [[Marjorie Hass]] began her tenure as the 20th president of Rhodes College, and the college's first female president.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.rhodes.edu/content/inauguration-20th-president-rhodes-college|title=The Inauguration of the 20th President of Rhodes College|date=2017-10-23|work=Rhodes College|access-date=2017-12-26|language=en}}</ref> She departed Rhodes in June 2021 after being named the president of the [[Council of Independent Colleges]] and was succeeded by [[Jennifer Collins]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://news.rhodes.edu/stories/president-hass-called-national-leadership-role-and-will-leave-rhodes-become-president/|title=President Hass Called to National Leadership Role and Will Leave Rhodes to Become President of the Council of Independent Colleges|access-date=2021-12-06|language=en|publisher=Rhodes College}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.rhodes.edu/about-rhodes/office-president/jennifer-m-collins-president-elect-rhodes-college/|title=Jennifer M. Collins, President-elect of Rhodes College|access-date=2021-12-06|language=en|publisher=Rhodes College}}</ref>

==Academics==
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.<ref name=":7">{{Cite news|url=http://www.rhodes.edu/content/about-rhodes|title=About Rhodes|date=2015-01-04|work=Rhodes College|access-date=2017-12-28|language=en}}</ref>

Through 18 academic departments and 13 interdisciplinary programs, Rhodes offers more than 50 majors, interdisciplinary majors, minors, and academic programs.<ref name=":8">{{Cite news|url=http://www.rhodes.edu/content/majors-minors|title=Majors & Minors|last=|date=2015-07-26|work=Rhodes College|access-date=2017-12-28|language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":8" /> Although the college is primarily focused on undergraduate education, Rhodes also offers graduate degrees in Accounting and Urban Education.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.rhodes.edu/content/graduate-studies|title=Graduate Studies|last=|date=2015-07-31|work=Rhodes College|access-date=2017-12-28|language=en}}</ref>

Its three most popular undergraduate majors, based on 2021 graduates, were Business Administration & Management (63), Biology/Biological Sciences (46), and Neuroscience (36).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=rhodes&s=all&id=221351#programs |website=nces.ed.gov |publisher=U.S. Dept of Education |title=Rhodes College |access-date=February 15, 2023}}</ref>

At the core of the Rhodes academic experience is the Foundations Curriculum,<ref name=":12">{{Cite news|url=http://www.rhodes.edu/content/foundations-curriculum|title=Foundations Curriculum|last=|date=2015-10-06|work=Rhodes College|access-date=2017-12-28|language=en}}</ref> which gives students freedom to follow their academic interests and aspirations while developing the critical-thinking and communication skills that are fundamental to a [[liberal arts education]]. It also requires students to connect their classroom experience to the real world through an internship, research, and/or study abroad opportunities.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web|url=https://ctcl.org/rhodes-college/|title=Rhodes College – Colleges That Change Lives|website=ctcl.org|language=en-US|access-date=2017-12-28}}</ref> More than 400 different courses are offered to fulfill the Foundations course requirements.<ref name=":12" />

=== Graduate school placement & postgraduate scholarships ===
About one-third of Rhodes students go on to [[graduate school|graduate]] or [[professional school]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Franek |first=Robert |title=The Best 361 Colleges: the Smart Student's Guide to Colleges |collaboration= |publisher=Random House, Inc. |location=New York |publication-date=2006 |pages=424}}</ref> The acceptance rates of Rhodes [[alumni]] to [[law school|law]] and [[business school]]s are around 95%, and the acceptance rate to [[medical school]]s is nearly twice the national average.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pope |first=Loren |title=Colleges that Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges |publisher=Penguin Books |location=New York |publication-date=2006 |pages=185}}</ref> Additionally, Rhodes' partnership with the [[George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences|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 & Health Sciences|George Washington University School of Medicine]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sites.rhodes.edu/healthprofessions/content/george-washington-early-selection-program|title=George Washington Early Selection Program {{!}} Health Professions Advising|website=sites.rhodes.edu|language=en|access-date=2017-12-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228171741/http://sites.rhodes.edu/healthprofessions/content/george-washington-early-selection-program|archive-date=2017-12-28|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2015, the college's website claimed that Rhodes had produced eight [[Rhodes Scholarship|Rhodes Scholars]], was named perennially as a "Top Producing Institution" for [[Fulbright Program|Fulbright Scholars]], and boasted numerous [[Harry S. Truman Scholarship|Truman Scholars]], [[Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship|Goldwater Scholars]], [[Henry Luce Scholar]]s, [[NSF-GRF|National Science Foundation Graduate Fellows]], and recipients of the [[Thomas J. Watson Fellowship]].<ref name=":0" />

=== Community service ===

More than 80 percent of Rhodes students are involved in some form of community service,<ref name=":10">{{Cite news|url=http://www.rhodes.edu/content/community-service|title=Community Service|last=|date=2015-07-30|work=Rhodes College|access-date=2017-12-28|language=en}}</ref> and the college has the oldest collegiate chapter of Habitat for Humanity and the longest student-run soup kitchen in the country.<ref name=":13" /> 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.<ref name=":10" /> Additionally, the Bonner Scholars Program offers scholarships to up to 15 students per class who have a strong commitment to change-based service.<ref name=":10" /> Rhodes also offers Summer Service Fellowships that award academic credit to students working full-time with Memphis community organizations and non-profits.<ref name=":10" />

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".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rhodes.edu/about/8327.asp|title=Rhodes Vision|access-date=February 1, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203113059/http://www.rhodes.edu/about/8327.asp|archive-date=2009-02-03|url-status=dead|publisher=Rhodes College}}</ref>

=== Internships and research ===

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]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.rhodes.edu/content/st-jude-summer-plus-fellowship|title=St. Jude Summer Plus Fellowship|last=|date=2015-07-30|work=Rhodes College|access-date=2017-12-28|language=en}}</ref> the Rhodes/UT Neuroscience Fellowship,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.rhodes.edu/content/rhodesut-neuroscience-research-fellowship|title=Rhodes/UT Neuroscience Research Fellowship|last=|date=2015-07-30|work=Rhodes College|access-date=2017-12-28|language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":9">{{Cite news|url=http://www.rhodes.edu/departments/international-studies/buckman-international-internship-program|title=Buckman International Internship Program|last=|date=2016-08-04|work=Rhodes College|access-date=2017-12-28|language=en}}</ref> In addition to the work experience, Buckman interns are provided with a stipend to use for cultural enrichment while abroad.<ref name=":9" /> Past students have worked for the [[United States Department of Commerce|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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.rhodes.edu/content/internships|title=Internships|last=|date=2015-07-30|work=Rhodes College|access-date=2017-12-28|language=en}}</ref> Additionally, the Political Science Department offers semester programs in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.rhodes.edu/departments/political-science/study-washington-dc|title=Study in Washington, D.C.|last=troma-17|date=2015-08-07|work=Rhodes College|access-date=2017-12-28|language=en}}</ref>

=== Study abroad ===

Rhodes offers a number of its own study abroad programs, including European Studies, a fall semester program in which students travel to various locations in Europe while studying at the [[University of Oxford]]. Additionally, students can explore a variety of summer programs in locations such as Belgium, London, and Ecuador.<ref name="study abroad">{{cite web |title=Study Abroad and Away |url=https://www.rhodes.edu/content/study-abroad-and-away |website=Rhodes College |access-date=June 19, 2018}}</ref>

In order to lower the financial obstacles to studying abroad, Rhodes allows students to use their federal and institutional aid on any one of more than 300 Rhodes-affiliated semester-long study abroad programs.<ref name=":17">{{Cite web|url=https://news.rhodes.edu/stories/new-study-abroad-policy-will-help-more-rhodes-students-experience-world|title=New Study Abroad Policy Will Help More Rhodes Students Experience the World {{!}} Rhodes News|website=news.rhodes.edu|access-date=2019-08-16}}</ref> The college's Buckman Center for International Education maintains a list of affiliated programs that Rhodes students can attend for one semester with no additional tuition or fees.<ref name=":17" /> Per their official policy "students pay tuition, room, and board as normal to Rhodes, including any federal and institutional aid they normally receive, which covers their tuition, room, and board while on the program."<ref name=":17" /> Additionally, the college maintains a list of exceptional programs that are available via a petition process.<ref name=":17" />

=== Mike Curb Institute for Music ===
The Mike Curb Institute for Music was founded in 2006 to foster awareness and understanding of the distinct musical traditions of Memphis and the South and to study the effect music has had on the region's culture, history, and economy.<ref name=":14">{{Cite news|url=https://www.rhodes.edu/content/mike-curb-institute-music|title=Mike Curb Institute for Music|last=|date=2016-01-12|work=Rhodes College|access-date=2018-05-14|language=en}}</ref> Through the areas of preservation, research, leadership, and civic responsibility, the Institute provides support and opportunities for students and faculty, in partnership with the community, to experience and celebrate what Curb called the "Tennessee Music Miracle."<ref name=":14" />

In addition to taking specially offered courses, students have the opportunity to work with the Curb Institute through its fellowships program. As Mike Curb Fellows, students can gain experience in public relations, marketing, video production, audio production, community engagement, and extensive research/writing projects.

==== The Audubon Sessions: ''An Evening at Elvis''' ====
In March 1956, [[Elvis Presley]] purchased [[Elvis Presley House|his first home]]—a four-bedroom ranch house at 1034 Audubon Drive in [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]]—with the money he earned off the royalties of "[[Heartbreak Hotel]]".<ref name=":15">{{Cite news|url=https://www.rhodes.edu/content/audubon-sessions|title=The Audubon Sessions|last=filesj|date=2016-01-14|work=Rhodes College|access-date=2018-05-14|language=en}}</ref> He lived there for thirteen months with his parents and grandmother before they moved to [[Graceland]]. During this time, Elvis would make his iconic appearance on [[The Ed Sullivan Show]], record such hits as "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel," and begin his storied [[Elvis Presley on film and television|movie career]].<ref name=":16">{{Cite news|url=http://archive.commercialappeal.com/entertainment/elvis/at-home-with-elvis-kings-first-house-now-concert-home-for-students-and-fans-284c17d3-45ba-37da-e053--364519221.html/|title=At Home With Elvis: King's first house now concert home for students and fans|access-date=2018-05-14|language=en}}</ref> In 2006, Mike Curb purchased the home for Rhodes, with the idea that it would be used by the college as an extension of the Curb Institute. Curb Fellows now use the house for interviews, recording, and projects like ''The Audubon Sessions''.

''The Audubon Sessions'' is a student-produced house concert series that takes place at 1034 Audubon Drive. Guest artists are invited to the house to perform and discuss their careers and thoughts about music and life, especially in the context of Memphis and the region.<ref name=":15" /> Rhodes students produce, film, record, and edit the shows alongside professionals such as New School Media and producer/engineer Doug Easley, and partners such as the [[Levitt Shell]] and [[Stax Museum of American Soul Music]].<ref name=":16" /> After 4 years as a web series, the show has now evolved into a program that launches nationally to public arts television stations through a collaboration with NECAT.

The house has hosted concerts by Mississippi bluesman Bobby Rush, singer-songwriter and Memphis native [[Rosanne Cash]], Southern roots chanteuse [[Valerie June]], guitar great [[Bill Frisell]], jazz giant [[Charles Lloyd (jazz musician)|Charles Lloyd]], Memphis alt band Star and Micey, and Memphis rapper PreauXX.

=== The "Search" course ===

First required for entering freshman in 1945, The Search for Values in the Light of Western History and Religion, known affectionately as "Search,”<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=2023 |quote=The course was named “Man in the Light of History and Religion from 1945 until 1986, and known as “Man”|title=Historical Timeline |url=https://www.rhodes.edu/about-rhodes/college-history/historical-timeline|website=Rhodes College |location=Memphis TN |access-date=2026-08-07}}</ref> is a two-year, intensive study of the literature, philosophy, religion, and history of the West from ''Gilgamesh'' to modern times.<ref name=":03" /> The course is a central facet of Rhodes' Foundations Curriculum and can be seen as the college's take on the [[Great books|Great Books]] Program. Although Search has evolved over its history, the course remains a rite of passage for all Rhodes students and is seen as "the defining academic experience at Rhodes" and "the soul of the college."<ref name=":03" /> The success of the program has inspired similar efforts at other colleges and universities, such as [[Davidson College|Davidson]], [[Louisiana State University|LSU]], and [[Sewanee: The University of the South|Sewanee]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dailymemphian.com/article/4509/Nelson-How-to-fight-recidivism-with-great-books|title=Nelson: How to fight recidivism with great books|website=The Daily Memphian|language=en|access-date=2019-04-19|date=2019-04-21|last=Nelson|first=Michael}}</ref>

The 2016 Rhodes College Course Catalogue offers this description of the Search course: <blockquote>Throughout its sixty-six year history, Search has embodied the College's guiding concern for helping students to become men and women of purpose, to think critically and intelligently about their own moral views, and to approach the challenges of social and moral life sensitively and deliberately. Students are encouraged to engage texts directly and to confront the questions and issues they encounter through discussions with their peers, exploratory writing assignments, and ongoing personal reflection. Special emphasis is given to the development and cultivation of critical thinking and writing skills under the tutelage of a diverse faculty drawn from academic disciplines across the Humanities, Fine Arts, Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|url=http://catalog.rhodes.edu/catalog/foundations-programs-humanities|title=Foundations Programs in the Humanities {{!}} Catalogue|website=catalog.rhodes.edu|language=en|access-date=2017-12-28}}</ref></blockquote>Although the exact assignments vary year to year, students read from primary sources that span the millennia of recorded Western history and thought.<ref name=":03" /><ref name=":11" /> Rhodes students are required to take one class from either the Search course or the Life: Then and Now course ("Life") during each of their first three semesters at Rhodes. As such, the course constitutes more than 10% of a student's total credits toward graduation.<ref name=":03" />


=== Rankings ===
In 2017, ''The Princeton Review'' ranked Rhodes #9 for Most Accessible Professors.<ref name=":7" /> Rhodes is featured perennially on the ''[[U.S. News & World Report|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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/colleges/rhodes-college/|title=Rhodes College|work=Forbes|access-date=2018-03-20|language=en}}</ref>

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 [[Southeastern United States|Southeast]].<ref name=":13" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.rhodes.edu/content/outcomes|title=Outcomes|last=|date=2015-01-04|work=Rhodes College|access-date=2018-10-01|language=en}}</ref> Rhodes is also a top 10 undergraduate source of psychology Ph.D.s.<ref name=":0"/>

In 2017, ''The Princeton Review'' ranked Rhodes #16 for Best Schools for Internships and #16 for Best Career Services.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news|url=http://www.rhodes.edu/content/what-others-say-about-rhodes|title=What Others Say About Rhodes|last=|date=2015-01-04|work=Rhodes College|access-date=2017-12-22|language=en|archive-date=2017-12-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222105910/http://www.rhodes.edu/content/what-others-say-about-rhodes|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Institute of International Education's ''Open Doors Report'', listed Rhodes as one of Top 35 Colleges in the United States for Students Who Study Abroad.<ref name="study abroad" />

In 2017, ''The Princeton Review'' named Rhodes the #1 Most Beautiful College Campus in America in its edition of ''The Best 381 Colleges''. 

{| class="wikitable"
|+Rhodes College's Rankings in ''The Princeton Review's'' 2017 Edition of ''The Best 381 Colleges''
!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
|}

==Campus==
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Southwestern at Memphis Historic District
| nrhp_type = hd
| nocat = yes
| image = Rhodes Academic Quad.jpg
| caption = Southwestern Hall and Halliburton Tower in the historic district
| built =
| architect =
| architecture = [[Collegiate Gothic]]
| added = July 20, 1978<ref name="nris2"/>
| area = {{convert|13|acre}}
| ref_num = 78002635<ref name="nris2">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Southwestern at Memphis Sorority Row Historic District
| nrhp_type = hd
| nocat = yes
| image = Rhodestridelthouse.jpg
| caption = [[Delta Delta Delta]] chapter house
| built =
| architect =
| architecture = [[Collegiate Gothic]]
| added = July 12, 2006<ref name=nris2/>
| area = {{convert|1.5|acre}}
| ref_num = 06000583<ref name="nris2">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
}}
The campus covers a 123-acre tract in [[Midtown, Memphis]] across from [[Overton Park]] and the [[Memphis Zoo]]. Often cited for its beauty,<ref>as in Turner South's <u>Blue Ribbon</u>, <u>Princeton Review</u>, <u>Collegiate Gothic: The Architecture of Rhodes College</u> by William Stroud, and other sources</ref> the campus design is notable for its stone [[Collegiate Gothic]] buildings, thirteen of which are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] as part of the Southwestern at Memphis Historic District.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rhodes.edu/about/899.asp|title=Rhodes Recognized|access-date=February 1, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090803063558/http://www.rhodes.edu/about/899.asp|archive-date=August 3, 2009|publisher=Rhodes College}}</ref> Additionally, Rhodes is a certified Class IV [[Arboretum]], the highest designation granted by the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council, and contains over 120 tree species and more than 1,500 individual trees.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news|url=http://www-dev.rhodes.edu/content/rhodes-arboretum|title=Rhodes Arboretum|date=2017-09-27|work=Rhodes College|access-date=2017-12-22|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222052531/http://www-dev.rhodes.edu/content/rhodes-arboretum|archive-date=2017-12-22|url-status=dead}}</ref> Since 2006, four Collegiate Gothic sorority houses have also been listed on the National Register as the Southwestern at Memphis Sorority Row Historic District.<ref name="nris2" />

The architecture of Rhodes College is the legacy of President Charles Diehl. The original buildings, including Southwestern Hall (1925), Kennedy Hall (1925), and Robb and White dormitories (1925), were designed by [[Henry C. Hibbs|Henry Hibbs]] in consultation with [[Charles Klauder]], the architect of many buildings at [[Princeton University]]. Palmer Hall was renamed Southwestern Hall in April 2019 after the board of trustees unanimously accepted the recommendation of the Palmer Hall Discernment Committee.

Every building on the Rhodes campus is built from three types of stone: the walls are sandstone from Arkansas, the roofs are slate from Vermont, and the door/window frames and decorative carvings are crafted from Indiana limestone.<ref name=":2" /> Additionally, each slate roof is built at a precise 52 degree angle and every structure (except for the visual arts building) has [[Leadlight|leaded]] stained-glass windows. The visual arts building was designed with standard clear glass windows at the request of the arts faculty and students, who wished to preserve the uncolored natural light to better create and evaluate their work.<ref name=":2" />

President Diehl was particularly concerned about ensuring unity and consistency of design.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=Collegiate Gothic: The Architecture of Rhodes College|last=Morgan|first=William|publisher=University of Missouri Press|year=1989|isbn=0-82620699-9|location=Columbia, Missouri|pages=88–89}}</ref> When the first buildings were being planned in the early 1920s, architect [[Henry C. Hibbs|Henry Hibbs]] chose for the walls a uniquely colorful sandstone with a range of reds, yellows, and browns from a quarry near [[Bald Knob, Arkansas]].<ref name=":2" /> To ensure a continuous supply, Rhodes purchased the quarry. After the state decided to build a highway through the quarry in the 1960s, Rhodes was forced to sell the property.<ref name=":2" /> Since then, the college has been able to continue the uniformity of its buildings by sourcing the sandstone for the college's new buildings from other quarries within a five-mile range of the original source.<ref name=":2" />

The campus also includes four limestone gargoyles on buildings. These likenesses of former college presidents Peyton Rhodes, James Daughdrill, and Bill Troutt, in addition to a tribute to former college first lady Carole Troutt, are tokens of gratitude added by the generations of stonecutters who enjoyed employment from the college.<ref name=":2" />

<gallery mode="packed" heights="100">
file:20201018 172420 Townsend Hall - New Dorm.jpg|Townsend Hall
File:BurrowHall.jpg|Burrow Hall 
File:Ashner Gateway.jpg|Ashner Gateway and Robb Hall Dormitory 
File:Palmer in Ivy.jpg|Southwestern Hall viewed from Oak Alley 
File:Elvis' Audubon House.jpg|[[Elvis Presley House|Elvis' first home]] in Memphis, now owned by Rhodes College
File:Catherine Burrow Refectory.jpg|Catherine Burrow Refectory 
20201018 173232 Paul Barret, Jr. new library.jpg|Paul Barret Library
File:AmphitheatreFJ.jpg|Frazier Jelke (FJ) Amphitheatre and Southwestern Hall (back) 
File:Halliburton Snow.jpg|Halliburton Tower in the snow
File:PBJ Star Room.jpg|Reading room in the Paul Barrett Library
</gallery>

==Student life==

{| class="wikitable floatright sortable collapsible"; text-align:right; font-size:80%;"
|+ style="font-size:90%" |Student body composition as of Fall 2024
|-
! Race and ethnicity<ref>{{cite web|title=College Scorecard: Rhodes College|url=https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?221351-Rhodes-College|publisher=[[United States Department of Education]]|access-date=2026-08-03|archive-date=2026-08-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260803031605/https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?221351-Rhodes-College|url-status=live}}</ref>
! colspan="2" data-sort-type=number |Total
|-
| [[Non-Hispanic whites|White]]
|align=right| {{bartable|59|%|2||background:gray}}
|-
| [[Asian Americans|Asian]]
|align=right| {{bartable|9|%|2||background:purple}}
|-
| [[Foreign national]]
|align=right| {{bartable|6|%|2||background:orange}}
|-
| [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic]]
|align=right| {{bartable|7|%|2||background:green}}
|-
| [[African Americans|Black]]
|align=right| {{bartable|9|%|2||background:mediumblue}}
|-
| Other{{efn|Other consists of [[multiracial Americans]] & those who prefer to not say.}}
|align=right| {{bartable|10|%|2||background:brown}}
|-
! colspan="4" data-sort-type=number |[[Economic diversity]]
|-
| [[American lower class|Low-income]]{{efn|The percentage of students who received an income-based federal [[Pell grant]] intended for low-income students.}}
|align=right| {{bartable|16|%|2||background:red}}
|-
| Non-low income{{efn|The percentage of students who are a part of the [[American middle class]] at the bare minimum.}}
|align=right| {{bartable|84|%|2||background:black}}
|}

=== Students and faculty ===
The Rhodes student body represents 46 [[U.S. state|states]], the [[District of Columbia]], and 43 foreign countries.<ref name=":7" /> Additionally, 20% are minorities, and 30% are multicultural and international students.<ref name=":7" /> The student-to-faculty ratio is 10:1 and the average class size is 14.<ref>These figures are published in the Rhodes College [http://www.rhodes.edu/1328.asp Common Data Set] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810032213/http://www.rhodes.edu/1328.asp |date=2007-08-10 }}</ref> Some of the college's approximately 50 majors and minors include [[International relations|International Studies]],<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.rhodes.edu/is|title=International Studies|last=|date=2015-08-04|work=Rhodes College|access-date=2017-12-28|language=en}}</ref> [[Economics]], [[Computer science|Computer Science]], [[Business Administration|Commerce and Business]], [[Biology]], [[Political Science]], and [[Political economy|Political Economy]]. Over 95% of Rhodes' 224 faculty members hold the highest degree in their field, and no classes at the college are taught by teaching assistants.<ref name=":7" />

=== Honor Code and other traditions ===
Central to the life of the college is its honor code, administered by students through the Honor Council. Every student is required to sign the code, which reads, "As a member of the Rhodes College community, I pledge my full and steadfast support to the Honor System and agree neither to lie, cheat, nor steal and to report any such violation that I may witness."<ref name=":13" />

The Seal of Rhodes College is located in the [[Cloister]] of Southwestern Hall. Tradition holds that students stepping on the seal will not graduate on time, if at all. The senior class finally gets a chance to cross the seal during their procession to Fisher Garden during Commencement.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.rhodes.edu/content/our-traditions|title=Our Traditions|last=|date=2015-01-04|work=Rhodes College|access-date=2017-12-28|language=en}}</ref>

''Rites of Spring'' is Rhodes' annual three-day music festival in early April that typically attracts several major bands from around the country. Past performers include [[The Black Keys]], [[Coolio]], [[Old Crow Medicine Show]], [[Grace Potter and the Nocturnals|Grace Potter]], and [[G-Eazy|G-Easy]]. Rhodes' ''Rites to Play'' has in recent years brought elementary-school-age children to the campus. Rhodes students plan, organize, and execute a [[carnival]] for the children, who are sponsored by community agencies and schools that partner with Rhodes.

=== Mock trial ===
[[File:RhodesMocktrial.jpg|thumb|220px|The Marcus D. Pohlmann Mock Trial Courtroom]]
Rhodes College provides an undergraduate [[mock trial#United States|mock trial]] program that has won four national championships and participated in ten national final rounds. The program was founded in 1986 by Professor [[Marcus Pohlmann]]. Rhodes qualified to the American Mock Trial Association's National Championship tournament every year since its inception (a national record) until 2021, with thirty-two top ten or Honorable Mention finishes and over one hundred and thirty All-American attorney and witness awards.

Buckman Hall houses a replica courtroom used by the teams for practicing. Every spring, Rhodes hosts one of the nine [[American Mock Trial Association|AMTA]] Opening Round Championship tournaments in the [[Shelby County, Tennessee#Shelby County Courthouse|Shelby County Courthouse]] in [[Downtown Memphis, Tennessee|downtown Memphis]]. The program also hosts an informal invitational scrimmage tournament in Buckman Hall every autumn.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rhodes.edu/mocktrial/22272.asp|title=About Our Team|publisher=Rhodes College|access-date=19 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225113215/http://www.rhodes.edu/mocktrial/22272.asp|archive-date=2015-02-25|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collegemocktrial.org/about-amta/history-/national-championship-trial-results/|title=National Championship Trial Results|access-date=23 March 2017|website=American Mock Trial Association}}</ref>

=== Greek life ===
Rhodes has 17 social [[Fraternity|fraternities]] and [[Sorority|sororities]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fraternity and Sorority Life {{!}} Rhodes College |url=https://www.rhodes.edu/campus-life/get-involved/student-engagement/fraternity-sorority-life |access-date=2026-08-03 |website=www.rhodes.edu}}</ref> President Charles Diehl prescribed certain rules regarding the design of the fraternity and sorority lodges.<ref name=":4" /> Each features the same Arkansas sandstone walls, Vermont slate roofs, Indiana limestone trim, and stained glass windows as the rest of campus. As a result, Rhodes' fraternity and sorority rows are composed of domestic-scale Gothic lodges featuring variations on the college's distinctive architecture.<ref name=":4" />

=== Athletics ===
[[file:Rhodes college athletics wmark.png|thumb|170px|Rhodes athletics wordmark]]
Rhodes' mascot is the [[lynx]], and the school colors are cardinal and black. The Lynx compete in [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] [[Division III (NCAA)|Division III]] in the [[Southern Athletic Association]]. Prior to joining the SAA, Rhodes was a founding member of the [[Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference]]. Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis, and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and volleyball.

Rhodes has four team athletic national championships to its credit, with the baseball team earning a title in 1961 and the women's golf team earning three from 2014 to 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/golf-women/article/2014-05-16/rhodes-wins-first-team-championship-1961-lynx-never-trailed|title=Rhodes wins first team championship since 1961; Lynx never trailed |publisher=NCAA |access-date=19 September 2014|date=2014-05-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/golf-women/article/2017-05-12/ncaa-womens-golf-rhodes-college-wins-second-straight-championship|title=NCAA Women's Golf: Rhodes College wins second straight championship|publisher=NCAA |access-date=15 May 2017}}</ref>

==== Rivalry with Sewanee ====
[[File:Rhodes vs. Sewanee SAA Semifinals 052 (cropped).jpg|thumb|220px|A 2016 field hockey matchup between Rhodes and Sewanee]]
In 2012, ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' reported that the annual football rivalry between Rhodes and [[Sewanee: The University of the South]] is the longest continuously running college football rivalry in the [[Southern United States]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.saa-sports.com/sports/fball/2012-13/releases/20120820oavpvm|title=Sports Illustrated Magazine Recognizes Rhodes-Sewanee Football Rivalry|date=2012-08-20|work=Southern Athletic Association|access-date=2017-12-26|language=en}}</ref>

The exchange of the [[Edmund Orgill Trophy]] was added to the series in 1954, and the prize takes the form of a large silver bowl that is engraved with the result of each year's game.<ref name=":2" /> The name honors the Memphis mayor that served on the boards of both colleges.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.saa-sports.com/sports/fball/2012-13/releases/20120820oavpvm|title=More Than a Game|last=Churchill|first=John|date=2012-08-20|website=Memphis Flyer|access-date=2017-12-26}}</ref>

Rhodes currently leads the trophy series 32–28–1, and is one game behind Sewanee in the overall series, with Rhodes winning thirteen of the last sixteen meetings.{{Citation needed|date=August 2026}}

==Notable people==
{{Excessive examples|section|date=July 2025}}
{{Very long|section|date=September 2024}}

===Faculty and administrators===
*[[William Alexander Forbes]] (b.1855, d.1883) – [[zoologist]]
*[[James Kennedy Patterson|James K. Patterson]] – president of the [[University of Kentucky]]
*[[Alfred Hume]] (b.1860, d.1950) – chancellor of the [[University of Mississippi]]
*[[Burnet Tuthill]] (b.1882, d.1982) – educator and founder of the [[Memphis Symphony Orchestra]]
*[[Horace B. Davis]] (b.1898, d.1999) – economist{{citation needed|date=July 2018}}
*[[Allen Tate]] (b.1899, d.1979) – [[Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress]] 
*[[Robert Penn Warren]] (b.1905, d.1989) – [[Pulitzer Prize]] winning author of ''[[All The King's Men]]''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.robertpennwarren.com/RPW-A%20Documentary%20Volume.htm|title=Robert Penn Warren Biography|access-date=19 September 2014}}</ref>
*[[Bobby Rush (musician)]] (b.1933) – musician
*[[James H. Daughdrill, Jr.]] (b.1934, d.2014) – president of Rhodes College
*[[Susan Bies]] (b.1947) – member of the Board of Governors of the [[Federal Reserve]] from 2001 through 2007
*[[William E. Troutt]] (b.1949) – president of Rhodes College
*[[Michael Nelson (political scientist)|Michael Nelson]] (b.1949) – political scientist
*[[Dave Wottle]] (b.1950) – olympic gold medalist in running
*[[Ming Dong Gu]] (b.1955) – literary scholar<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rhodes College Digital Archives |title=Ming Dong Gu |url=https://dlynx.rhodes.edu/jspui/handle/10267/16326|year=2001 }}</ref>
*[[Mark Behr]] (b.1963, d.2015) – novelist
*[[Andrew A. Michta]] (b.1956) – dean of the [[George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies]]
*[[Abu Ammaar Yasir Qadhi]] (b.1975) – Islamic scholar
*[[Marcus Pohlmann]] (b.1950) – political scientist
*[[Joseph Ruggles Wilson]] (b.1822) – theologian and father of President [[Woodrow Wilson]]
*[[Mark W. Muesse]] (b.1957) – professor of religious studies and philosophy

===Alumni===

====Academia====
*[[David Alexander (college president)|David Alexander]], '53 – president of Rhodes College and [[Pomona College]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pomona.edu/administration/communications/special-features/david-alexander/obituary.aspx|title=David Alexander (1932–2010)|access-date=19 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020140918/http://www.pomona.edu/administration/communications/special-features/david-alexander/obituary.aspx|archive-date=2014-10-20|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*[[Harry L. Swinney]], '61 – director of the Center for Nonlinear Dynamics at the [[University of Texas at Austin]]
*[[Lindley Darden]], '68 – professor of philosophy, [[University of Maryland]]
*Clyde [[Lee Giles]], '68 – professor of Information Sciences and Technology, [[Pennsylvania State University]]
*[[Carol Strickland]], '68 – art historian
*[[James C. Dobbins]], '71 – professor of religion, [[Oberlin College]]
*[[Mark D. West]], '89 – [[University of Michigan Law School]] Dean
*[[Julie Story Byerley]], '92 – [[Dean (education)|Vice Dean for Education]] for the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] School of Medicine<ref name=VitalSigns2013>{{cite news |title=Byerley appointed Vice Dean for Education |journal=Vital Signs |publisher=UNC Health Care News |date=2013-09-12 |url=http://news.unchealthcare.org/som-vital-signs/2013/september-12/byerley-appointed-vice-dean-for-education |access-date=2015-04-13 |archive-date=2015-04-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150417010723/http://news.unchealthcare.org/som-vital-signs/2013/september-12/byerley-appointed-vice-dean-for-education |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*[[Bryan Coker]], '95 – president of [[Maryville College]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.maryvillecollege.edu/news/2020/3058/dr-bryan-coker-named-12th-president-of-maryville-college/|title=Dr. Bryan Coker named 12th president of Maryville College|date=February 13, 2020|access-date=April 9, 2020|website=Maryville College}}</ref>

====Athletics====
*[[Challace McMillin]], '64 – first head coach of [[James Madison Dukes football]], sports psychologist
*[[Tom Mullady]], '79 – [[New York Giants]] tight end, 1979 to 1984

====Business====
*[[John H. Bryan]], '58 – Former CEO of [[Sara Lee (corporation)|Sara Lee]], member of the board of [[Goldman Sachs]], philanthropic driving force behind the creation of [[Millennium Park]] in [[Chicago]]

====Government and military====
[[File:SCOTUS_Justice_Abe_Fortas.jpeg|thumb|170px|Justice [[Abe Fortas]]]]
[[File: Amy Coney Barrett official portrait.jpg|thumb|170px|Justice [[Amy Coney Barrett]]]]

*[[Thomas Watt Gregory]], 1883 – [[United States Attorney General|U.S. Attorney General]] 1914–1919
*[[Jennings Bailey]], 1884 – U.S. District Judge of the [[United States District Court for the District of Columbia]]
*[[William L. Frierson]], 1887 – [[Solicitor General of the United States]] 1920–21; [[United States Assistant Attorney General|Assistant U.S. Attorney General]] 1917–1920
*[[Key Pittman]], 1890 – U.S. Senator from Nevada 1913–40; chairman, [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Senate Foreign Relations Committee]] 
*[[Theodore M. Brantley]], 1875 – longest-serving Chief Justice of the [[Montana Supreme Court]], serving for 23 years (1899–1922) 
*[[Nathan L. Bachman|Nathan Lynn Bachman]], 1897 – U.S. Senator from Tennessee
*[[Julian P. Alexander]], 1906 – [[United States Attorney|U.S. Attorney]] for the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi|Southern District of Mississippi]] 1918–21; Associate Justice of the [[Supreme Court of Mississippi]] 1941–1953
*[[Abe Fortas]], '30 – [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|Associate Justice]], [[U.S. Supreme Court]]  (1965–1969); as an attorney, argued ''[[Gideon v. Wainwright]]'' before the Supreme Court (affirming the [[Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Sixth Amendment]] right to counsel in all criminal cases) 
*[[Gwen Robinson Awsumb]], 1937 – American politician and social activist who became the first woman to be elected to the Memphis City Council in 1968; Chair of Memphis City Council 1970–1975
*[[Joseph Williams Vance, Jr.]] – [[United States Navy]] officer, received [[Bronze Star Medal]] for action in the [[Battle of Makassar Strait]] (1942) during [[World War II]], attended Southwestern from 1936 to 1938. He later gave his life during the [[Guadalcanal campaign|Guadalcanal]] landings. The U.S. Navy destroyer [[USS Vance (DE-387)|USS ''Vance'' (DE-387)]], which saw duty in the latter part of [[World War II]], was named in his honor.
*[[William Vollie Alexander, Jr.|Bill Alexander]], '57 – U.S. Congressman from Arkansas (1969–1993), Chief Deputy Majority [[Whip (politics)|Whip]]
*[[Claudia J. Kennedy]], '69 – first woman to hold a three-star rank in the U.S. Army, Lieutenant General, Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, member of the [[Military Intelligence Hall of Fame]] 
*[[Amy Coney Barrett]], '94 – [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court]], former U.S. Circuit Court Judge, [[United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit|United States Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit]]; former Diane and M.O. Miller Research Chair of Law at [[Notre Dame Law School]]
*[[Francis Gracey Childers]] – Army general and member of the [[Tennessee House of Representatives]]
*[[Chuck McGrady|Charles McGrady]], '75 – President of the [[Sierra Club]] 1998–2000; [[North Carolina House of Representatives]], District 117
*[[Catherine Eagles]], '79 – U.S. District Judge for the [[U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina|Middle District of North Carolina]]
*[[Willie Hulon]], ‘79 – Executive Assistant Director, National Security Branch of the FBI
*[[Kelley Paul]], '85 – writer, former political consultant; wife of US Senator [[Rand Paul]]
*[[A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr.|A. Marvin Quattlebaum, Jr.]], '86 – U.S. Circuit Court Judge, [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit|United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit]]
*[[Alison Lundergan Grimes]], '01 – former [[Secretary of State of Kentucky]]
*[[Dustin Burrows]], '01 – [[Texas House of Representatives|Texas State Representative]], District 83<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.burrows4texas.com/about_dustin |title=About Dustin Burrows - Candidate for Texas House District 83 Representative |access-date=2014-11-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20141105072311/http://www.burrows4texas.com/about_dustin |archive-date=2014-11-05}}</ref>
*[[Jasmine Crockett]], '03 – U.S. Congresswoman for [[Texas's 30th congressional district]]

====Literature and the arts====
*[[Verner Moore White]], 1884 – Noted landscape and portrait artist; completed commissions for three U.S. Presidents 
*[[Dorothy Jordan (American actress)|Dorothy Jordan]], '25 –  Stage and film actress; played John Wayne's brother's wife in ''[[The Searchers]]''
*[[Carroll Cloar]], '34 – [[Guggenheim Fellow]] and artist; one of the South's most highly regarded and widely collected artists 
*[[Peter Matthew Hillsman Taylor]], '39 – [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning author
*[[Marion Keisker]], '39 – former [[Sun Studios]] employee, first person to record [[Elvis Presley]]
*[[Anne Howard Bailey]], '45 – [[Emmy Award]]-winning television writer (''[[The Adams Chronicles|Adams Chronicles]], [[Bonanza]], [[Lassie (1954 TV series)|Lassie]])''
*[[Mignon Dunn]], '49 – Internationally acclaimed [[mezzo-soprano]], longtime star of New York's [[Metropolitan Opera]]
*[[George Hearn]], '56 – two-time [[Tony Award]] winning actor and singer; star of Broadway's ''[[Sunset Boulevard (musical)|Sunset Boulevard]]'' and ''[[La Cage aux Folles (musical)|La Cage aux Folles]]''
*[[John Farris]], '58 – prolific writer of popular fiction and suspense novels, and stage and screen plays
*[[Hilton McConnico]] – artist, designer, and film director; the first American to have work permanently inducted into the [[Louvre]]'s Decorative Arts collection
*[[Lara Parker]] – actress, known for ''[[Dark Shadows]]'' and ''[[Save the Tiger]]'' 
*[[Allen Reynolds]], '60 – record producer and songwriter,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rhodes College Digital Archives |title=Reynolds was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000. |url=https://dlynx.rhodes.edu/jspui/handle/10267/16377|year=2000 }}</ref> inducted to [[Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame]]
*[[David Ramsey (musician)|David Ramsey]], '61 – music professor, [[Memphis Redbirds]] organist for 36 seasons
*[[Dixie Carter]], '62 – [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] actress and Emmy-nominated television actress, starred in hit [[CBS]] sitcom ''[[Designing Women]]''
*[[John Rone]], '71 – director, stage actor, former director of college events, former director of the Meeman Center for Lifelong Learning
*[[Charlaine Harris]], '73 – [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''New York Times'' best selling]] writer of ''[[The Southern Vampire Mysteries]]'' series, which [[HBO]] later adapted for its series ''[[True Blood]]''
*[[Bill Mobley]], '76 – American [[jazz]] trumpet and [[flugelhorn]] player
*[[Paul Buchignani]], '89 – American drummer, performed on [[the Afghan Whigs]]' ''[[Black Love (The Afghan Whigs album)|Black Love]]'' album
*[[Greg Krosnes]], '89 – stage actor, voice actor, director
*[[Sarah Lacy]], '99 – technology journalist; former columnist at ''[[Bloomberg Businessweek|Bloomberg BusinessWeek]]'' and ''[[TechCrunch]]''; founder of ''[[PandoDaily]]''

====Other====
*[[J. Vernon McGee]], '30 – Former pastor of the [[Church of the Open Door]] in Los Angeles and founder of ''Thru the Bible Radio Network''.
*[[Memphis Belle (aircraft)|Margaret Polk]], '43 – former fiancée of the pilot of the [[Memphis Belle (aircraft)|Memphis Belle]] B-17, after whom the plane was named
*[[Louis Pounders]], '96 – American architect, fellow at the [[American Institute of Architects]] ([[FAIA]])

====[[honorary degree|Honorary]] alumni====
*[[Edward J. Meeman]], 1960 – journalist, editor of ''[[Memphis Press-Scimitar]]'', namesake of Meeman Center for Lifelong Learning<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rhodes College Digital Archives |title=Edward J. Meeman receiving an honorary degree |url=https://dlynx.rhodes.edu/jspui/handle/10267/24794 |date=1960}}</ref>
*[[Malcolm Forbes]], 1983 – editor of ''[[Forbes Magazine]]''<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rhodes College Digital Archives |title=Malcolm Forbes, Editor of Forbes Magazine, spoke to the 239 members of the graduating class at commencement and received an Honorary doctor of humanities. |url=https://dlynx.rhodes.edu/jspui/handle/10267/16016 |date=1983}}</ref>
*[[William R. Ferris]], 1997 – head of the [[Center for the Study of Southern Culture]], co-edited Encyclopedia of Southern Culture
*[[Isaac Tigrett]], 1997 – founder of [[Hard Rock Cafe]] and [[House of Blues]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Rhodes College Digital Archives |title=Isaac Tigrett |url=https://dlynx.rhodes.edu/jspui/handle/10267/27683 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190209124532/https://dlynx.rhodes.edu/jspui/handle/10267/27683|archive-date= February 9, 2019|date=May 1997}}</ref>
*[[Peter C. Doherty]], 1998 – Australian [[veterinary surgeon]] and researcher<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rhodes College Digital Archives |title=Peter Doherty received an honorary degree in 1998. |url=https://dlynx.rhodes.edu/jspui/handle/10267/15025 |date=1998}}</ref>
*[[Priscilla Presley]], 1998 – American actress and businesswoman, former wife of [[Elvis Presley]]<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rhodes College Digital Archives |title=Priscilla Presley |url=https://dlynx.rhodes.edu/jspui/handle/10267/15023 |date=1998}}</ref>
*[[Bill Frist]], 1999 – American physician, businessman, and politician<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rhodes College Digital Archives |title=Frist received an honorary doctorate at Rhodes' commencement ceremony in 1999. |url=https://dlynx.rhodes.edu/jspui/handle/10267/18222|year=1999 }}</ref>
*[[Pitt Hyde|Joseph R. Hyde, III]], 1999 – founder of [[AutoZone]], part-owner of the [[Memphis Grizzlies]], founder of Hyde Family Foundation<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rhodes College Digital Archives |title=Mr. Hyde was recipient of an honorary doctor of humanities at Rhodes' commencement ceremony in 1999. |url=https://dlynx.rhodes.edu/jspui/handle/10267/18226 |date=1999}}</ref>
*[[Cary Fowler]], 2011 – American agriculturalist and the former executive director of the [[Global Crop Diversity Trust]], attended the school 1967–1969 before transferring

== See also ==
{{Portal|United States|Christianity}}
* [[Rhodes Singers]]
{{Clear}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website}}
* [https://rhodeslynx.com/ Athletics website]

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