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The Magazine of Rhodes College • Fall 2012
THE SCIENCES AT RHODES Past, Present and Future
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Campus News Briefs on campus happenings
The Sciences at Rhodes—Past, Present and Future Conversations with faculty, alumni and current students who majored in or are currently engaged in one of the six science disciplines Rhodes offers:
The Biochemists and Molecular Biologists Professor Terry Hill, Amanda Johnson Winters '99, Ross Hilliard '07, Xiao Wang '13
The Biologists Professor Gary Lindquester, Veronica Lawson Gunn '91, Brian Wamhoff '96, Anahita Rahimi-Saber '13
The Chemists Professor Darlene Loprete, Sid Strickland '68, Tony Capizzani '95, Ashley Tufton '13
The Environmental Scientists Professor Rosanna Cappellato, Cary Fowler '71, Christopher Wilson '95, Alix Matthews '14
The Neuroscientists Professor Robert Strandburg, Jim Robertson '53 and Jon Robertson '68, Michael Long '97, Piper Carroll '13
The Physicists Professor Brent Hoffmeister, Harry Swinney '61, Charles Robertson Jr. '65, Lars Monia '15
A Case for the Support of the Sciences at Rhodes The importance of strengthening the sciences in the 21st century
Alumni News Class Notes, In Memoriam
The 2011-2012 Honor Roll of Donors
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On the Cover From left: Alix Matthews '14, Ashley Tufton '13, Piper Carroll '13, Lars Monia '15 and Xiao Wang '13, five of the six science majors featured in this issue, at the Lynx sculpture in front of the Peyton Nalle Rhodes Tower, home of the Physics Department Photography by Justin Fox Burks
is published three times a year by Rhodes College, 2000 N. Parkway, Memphis, TN 38112 as a service to all alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff and friends of the college. Fall 2012—Volume 19, Number 3 EDITOR
Martha Hunter Shepard '66 GRAPHIC DESIGNERS
Larry Ahokas Robert Shatzer CONTRIBUTORS
Richard Alley, Virginia Arcari, Nicholas Brydon '12, Justin Fox Burks, Scarlett D'Anna '12, Carson Irwin '08, Dennis Kunkel, Allen Mims, Allison Rodgers, Richard Smith
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Please address postal correspondence, to: Martha H. Shepard, Editor, Rhodes Magazine, Rhodes College, 2000 N. Parkway, Memphis, TN 38112-1690 Email: email@example.com Phone: (901) 843-3544 Fax: (901) 843-3579
CLASS NOTES: Please send all Class Notes, including marriages, births and obituaries to: Alumni Office, Rhodes College, 2000 N. Parkway, Memphis, TN 38112-1690 Phone: (901) 843-3845 Fax: (901) 843-3947 Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
RHODES CENTRAL INFORMATION: 901-843-3000 RHODES ALUMNI OFFICE: 1 (800) 264-LYNX RHODES ADMISSION OFFICE: 1 (800) 844-LYNX POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: RHODES, 2000 North Parkway, Memphis, TN 38112-1690
CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please mail the completed form below and label from this issue of RHODES to: Alumni Office, Rhodes College, 2000 North Parkway, Memphis, TN 38112-1690
{WEB EXTRAS } Visit rhodes.edu/news for the latest stories and features about people and events. Visit rhodes.edu/magazine, or scan the code, to see both the online and print versions of the magazine. While there, be sure to check out the web-only content: • Videos of: Associate Professor of Religious Studies Luther Ivory's Opening Convocation address
Maggie Cupit '14, St. Jude Summer Plus Fellow
West Village move-in
City Home Phone
Zip Business Phone
West Village construction time lapse Rat Safari—students explore the renovated refectory
• In Print—new books by faculty and alumni Employer Title
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CAMPUS NEWS New Refectory and Residence Hall Enhance the Campus Experience JUSTIN FOX BURKS
Cutting the ribbon at the remodeled refectory, left to right: Thomas Threlkeld '16, the fourth generation of Threlkelds to attend Rhodes, and a Clarence Day Scholar; Devon Shiland '15, an undeclared major focused in the areas of humanities and the social sciences; Tom Dorer, regional vice president, ARAMARK Corp.; Bill Michaelcheck '69, chairman, Rhodes Board of Trustees; Mary Catherine Reeves '13, Rhodes Student Government president and student trustee; President Bill Troutt; David Jeter, Chemistry professor and senior member of the faculty; Jane Wright, CEO and President, Hanbury Evans, Wright and Vlattas Architects; Shane Watson '14, president of the Black Student Association; Justin Grinder of Grinder, Taber & Grinder, General Contractors; Martha McGeachy '88, Rhodes Department of Human Resources. Under the arch: John Rone '71, director of College Events and the Meeman Center
Along with 550 new first-year students, Rhodes also welcomed two additions to its campus at the start of the 2012-13 academic year–the newly refurbished and expanded Catherine Burrow Refectory, and the new West Village Residence Hall. Both facilities represent significant additions and changes to the college campus. Originally built in 1925, the refectory was last remodeled 25 years ago when the student body was substantially smaller. The renovations, which have expanded the building by 19,000 square feet, include a spacious new grand servery, which is approximately three times larger than the previous two serving areas combined. There are also
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a fireside lounge, new kitchen, new private dining rooms and a new dining hall. Menu options range from stir-fry to vegan fare to baked goods, the majority of which are freshly prepared in the exhibition-style servery. "Every time I'm with people who have just walked into the refectory for the first time, I feel like they spend the first 30 seconds with their mouths open," says Rhodes Diplomat and Student Trustee Robbie Cook '13. The Rhodes community celebrated the grand opening of the refectory with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Aug. 20. West Village is the newest addition to the 17 residential buildings on campus. The 52,000-square-foot structure
houses 141 students, mostly juniors, in six- and eight-person apartment-style suites. Mary Reed '14 is a resident of West Village who lives with five of her friends in a three-room suite with a spacious common area. Reed says she has already taken advantage of the large kitchen downstairs, and is enjoying the fact that there are laundry facilities on each floor. Both of the new buildings, along with the Moore Moore Student Health Center and Glassell Residence Hall, create a beautiful new quad, which students have already utilized for recreational and organizational purposes, such as barbecues and outdoor movie screenings. rhodes.edu
Professor Milton Moreland Receives 2012 Jameson M. Jones Award for Outstanding Faculty Service JUSTIN FOX BURKS
Professor Milton Moreland receives award from Dean Michael Drompp
Dr. Milton Moreland, associate professor of Religious Studies, chair of the Archaeology Program and director of the Memphis Center at Rhodes, is the 2012 recipient of the Jameson M. Jones Award for Outstanding Faculty Service. The award, which
honors a current faculty member who has rendered exemplary service and provided leadership to the Rhodes community, was presented during the college's Opening Convocation Aug. 17, which marked the opening of our 164th academic year.
The award received its name in 2005 in honor of Dr. Jameson M. Jones '36, who served as professor of Moral Philosophy and dean of the college from 1955 to 1971. Professor Moreland's record of service is keenly focused on bringing together faculty with the motivation and expertise necessary to provide exceptional learning opportunities for students. Under his leadership, the Archaeology Program has created a new academic minor along with student involvement in multiple projects and activities such as the Rhodes College Archaeological Field School at Ames Plantation, and a new archaeology lab on campus. Through his coordination of the Rhodes Institute for Regional Studies each summer since 2007, he has worked with faculty to provide research opportunities for students in a range of disciplines across our curriculum. And as director of the Memphis Center, Professor Moreland is working to create new opportunities for faculty-student collaboration focusing on the study of Memphis and the Mid-South region.
Crain Field Dedication The Rhodes Lynx football team opened the season Sept. 8 against the Washington University Bears from St. Louis. The game marked the dedication of the newly christened Crain Field and a new era for Rhodes football. Thanks to the generosity of Brenda and Lester Crain Jr. '51 (right), the new state-of-the-art FieldTurf gives current and future Rhodes athletes a consistent surface on which to practice and play. Lester Crain Jr. '51
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Rhodes Welcomes New Faculty Kimberly Brien joins the Department of Chemistry as assistant professor. She received her Ph.D. in Organometallic Chemistry from Texas Christian University. Maya Evans, assistant professor of Political Science, received her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Angela Frederick joins the Department of Anthropology and Sociology as assistant professor of Sociology. In spring 2012, she received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Texas at Austin. Ernest L. Gibson III, assistant professor of English with a specialization in African American Literature, recently received his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Rhiannon Graybill joins the
Class of 2016 Profile Admission Statistics 4,302 applications received • 2,295 students accepted, or 53% of the applicant pool • 565 students enrolled this fall: 11 transfers and 554 first-year students
Department of Religious Studies as assistant professor. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. Ben Holder, assistant professor of Physics, received his Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Texas at Austin. Kendra Hotz, who has been a faculty member of the Department of Religious Studies at Rhodes for six years, continues her work in a new tenure-track position. Dr. Hotz received her Ph.D. from Emory University. Charles Hughes joins the Department of History as the Memphis Center's Mellon postdoctoral fellow. He received his Ph.D. in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Amy Jasperson, associate professor and chair of the Department of Political Science, received her Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. Sherry Jensen joins the Department of Economics as assistant professor. Dr. Jensen received her Ph.D. from Clemson University. Phillip Kirlin joins the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science as assistant professor. In December 2012, he expects to receive his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Jesse-Douglas Mathewson joins the Department of International Studies as
assistant professor. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland. Ronald Pepino, assistant professor of Physics, received his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado. Jade Planchon '05 joins the Department of Commerce and Business as instructor of Finance. She earned her MBA from Columbia Business School. Jason Richards, who has been a faculty member at Rhodes for four years, continues his work in the Department of English in a new tenure-track position. Dr. Richards received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida. Oliver Sturm, assistant professor of Biology, received his Ph.D. from Imperial College in Great Britain. Catherine Sundt joins the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures as assistant professor of Spanish. She received her Ph.D. from The Ohio State University. Daniel Ullucci continues his work in the Department of Religious Studies in his new tenure-track position as assistant professor. He received his Ph.D. from Brown University. Caki Wilkinson '03 joins the Department of English as assistant professor. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati. JUSTIN FOX BURKS
Multicultural Students Multicultural students make up 21% (123 students) of the class of 2016: African American (28) Asian (53) Hispanic (23) Other (19)
Academic Credentials for the Class of 2016 50% ranked in the top 10% of their class • 54% attended public high schools, 46% private high schools • 78% reported a grade point average equal to or above 3.5 • The middle 50% range of SAT scores is 1200 to 1350, and ACT, 27 to 31 First-years on their way to Opening Convocation, led by professors Gary Lindquester and Bette Ackerman
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SCIENCES at RHODES past, present & future T
he study of the natural Between 2005 and 2011, three sciences at Rhodes is implied such majors were established: in a name: Dr. Peyton Biochemistry and Molecular Nalle Rhodes, the physicist Biology, Neuroscience, and who taught at the college from Environmental Sciences, 1926-49 and served as president bringing to six the number of from 1949-65. In 1984 the natural science majors offered. college, with a long reputation With them have come of excellence as a liberal arts and more students and increased sciences institution, changed its name from Southwestern at opportunities for internships, Memphis to Rhodes College. research, work in clinical It could be we're the only top settings and volunteer endeavors liberal arts college in America at major health-care institutions named for a physicist. throughout Memphis. Rhodes students have And in the student counseling always been required to area, there is Health Professions study a laboratory science. Dr. Peyton Rhodes as a young Physics professor in the 1920s Advising (HPA), directed Traditionally, nonscience majors by associate professor of Biology Alan Jaslow. The have chosen intro Biology or Chemistry courses. These days, though, "Chemistry and Archaeology" program mentors and advises students interested and "Chemistry and Art," taught by professor David in health professions, from medical to veterinary Jeter, along with basic Astronomy offerings, appeal school, from their first through fourth years, and even to nonscience majors, says Dr. John Olsen, Biology postgraduation. professor and associate dean of Academic Affairs. This issue of Rhodes is all about the natural sciences— Such courses reflect an increased interest in the past, present and future. Each section is a series of sciences—Biology is the most popular major at snapshots representative of so many valued faculty, Rhodes these days, followed by Commerce and students and alumni who are using, and will use, their Business, then English. There is also a growing trend knowledge and skills to improve our world. toward an interdisciplinary study of the sciences.
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BIOCHEMISTS and MOLECULAR BIOLOGISTS the
By Nicholas Brydon '12
LEARNING BY DOING Xiao Wang '13
iao Wang is an international student from Beijing, drawn to Rhodes by the liberal arts environment and exceptional quality of education: "I was looking for a school that focuses on all fields of studies, from science to humanities, before I go off to graduate school where I will develop my specialty in one field. Rhodes grabbed my attention because the liberal arts education fits my goal, and because Rhodes has a particularly strong Biology Department. Because history is the basis of traditional Chinese education, I prefer taking classes related to history or current issues, such as International Studies, or Environmental History; it is easier for me to learn Western culture from a historical perspective." Outside of class, Wang has taken advantage of research projects in the Biology Department to make the most of his preparation for graduate study. There, he works with professor Jonathan Fitz Gerald in the microscopy lab, learning techniques for more accurate data analysis in an independent but mentored setting. "While my job is all about techniques, I can choose my projects, and ask to learn things I don't study in class. For example, in order to help Dr. Fitz Gerald with image processing, I learned Java programming language with his help. The best part of this experience is that Dr. Fitz Gerald values both productivity and education."
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Wang also studies cell division in fi lamentous fungi in Biology professor Terry Hill's lab. Of this progressive learning project, he recalls, "In the beginning, I did not need to worry about designing experiments; my primary job was to ensure that I could produce replicable results using the same technique. When I became experienced in terms of techniques, I started to propose experiments for my project. During summers, I worked as a fulltime lab assistant and gained more control over my projects. The most important thing I have learned from my research is the skill to manage long-term projects. Most techniques and critical thinking can be learned from lectures, but the skills to track data, take effective lab notes and develop new techniques take practice. Dr. Hill likes to closely monitor my work, and he likes discussions and lab meetings. Before he makes any comments he will usually ask me what I want to do next, and is eager to respond to my project proposals. In my eyes Dr. Hill is a great instructor who is training scientists, not just lab technicians." In April this year, Wang presented a poster at an American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology conference. "I saw the way that scientists cooperate and exchange ideas, and learned about the hot topics they are working on. I see there are still many things I do not understand, but I am definitely planning to study for a Ph.D. following graduation and eventually work in academia."
Xiao Wang '13, professor Terry Hill and an image of an Aspergillus fungus
Terry Hill Professor of Biology Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program Committee Member Terry Hill, who has taught and conducted research at Rhodes for 34 years, arrived at the college when legendary professors Robert Amy and Julian Darlington were still teaching, two faculty Hill recalls as being "gentlemen," "scholarly" and "gracious mentors," whom he has come to "admire even more with the passage of time." Throughout that "passage," the faculty in the sciences have moved from offering "traditional" majors in Biology, Chemistry and Physics to creating new ones— many of them interdisciplinary, such as Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB), for which Hill serves as a member of the program committee. "During the last 10 years, the science departments have invigorated themselves," Hill explains. "We all have become more interested in collaboration than we used to be. Consequently, there is a wider range of
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opportunities for students. When they come to Rhodes they see more things they can do in the sciences than what they may have thought they wanted to do. It's also a great recruiting tool—I've talked to a number of students who say they chose Rhodes because we have a BMB or Neuro major, and so on." For Hill, collaboration extends beyond the classroom to faculty research. He had a long-standing association with Chemistry professor Darlene Loprete, also a member of the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Program Committee, and is currently collaborating with Chemistry professor Loretta Jackson-Hayes, also of the BMB Program. The research involves investigating the mechanisms of growth and cell division in fungi, vital for discovering new ways to use, control or inhibit fungal growth that impacts health, medicine and the economy. Hill and Loprete were recognized for their work as the first corecipients of the Clarence Day Dean's Award for Outstanding Research in 2010. Hill enjoys including students in his research. "I ask students who are interested in doing research in my lab if they'd be willing to undertake a project. It has to be one that I can support in my lab, but when
we agree on a project, it becomes theirs." Two of the students working with him now are Xiao Wang '13 and Kristen Wendt '14. Research doesn't stay in the lab, though. Like Wang, Wendt attended the annual conference of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in San Diego. And, earlier this year Hill traveled to Germany, where he presented a poster. Jackson-Hayes and Wang were his principal co-authors for both. "Our students are often legitimate co-authors of research that is presented internationally," explains Hill. "Xiao's work was of such quality that I easily would say that his being a student co-author was not just a little plum." What is satisfying to Hill about teaching at Rhodes? "The chance to work with so many really good students and the fact that the position here has allowed an excellent balance between research and teaching. We actually get to be professors, in the best way. If I were at a research institution I would be a pure researcher and wouldn't have the chance to 'profess'—to be a scholar in my discipline. Whereas here, I get to be a real contributing scholar in my discipline and share that with students. It all comes together—you realize you've helped someone make that connection—you've been the bridge between them and what's out there."
Amanda Johnson Winters '99, M.D. Psychiatrist, Cambridge, MA Alum Amanda Winters, now a practicing psychiatrist, originally hails from Birmingham, AL. She began her studies at Rhodes in Biology, on course for an intended career in Marine Biology. A few classes into her curriculum revealed a new love for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology that eventually eclipsed her plans. Winters decided on this new path before Rhodes offered the specific BMB major, and actually double majored in Biology and Chemistry. She names Biology Department chair Gary Lindquester as one of her most influential mentors: "Dr. Lindquester was an amazing research mentor. I didn't realize it at the time, but his management style was absolutely perfect for me, and I never found anyone
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better to work with. He gave me some literature to start with and just let me run with it. It was thrilling to feel I mastered something on my own (although that was mostly an illusion), and his lack of micromanaging was something I missed in graduate school." For her graduate program, Winters chose to enroll in the Medical Scientist Training Program at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. It's a difficult, competitive, fully-funded M.D.-Ph.D. dual-degree program for aspiring medical doctors who wish to conduct basic science research. After about a year Winters opted to focus solely on medicine and dropped the research component of the program, eventually deciding to pursue Psychiatry at the recommendation of her mentors because it offered a rewarding atmosphere for both inpatient and outpatient work. Overall, Winters feels that Rhodes prepared her well for her future. "I felt like I was way ahead of my classmates in some areas, like knowing my way around a lab and how to set up basic experiments. Maybe I was a little behind in others, like making mature career decisions and advocating for myself." Winters was on track to graduate in Biology after three years, but she felt an extra year of preparation and making career decisions would benefit her greatly. Adding the Chemistry major and taking some time to think turned out to be a great career move.
Ross W. Hilliard '07, M.D. Internal Medical Resident The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University Originally from Oak Ridge, TN, Ross Hilliard is now a resident in internal medicine at Brown University in Providence, RI. He chose Rhodes as the foundation of his career after sitting in on classes taught by Biology professors David Kesler and Gary Lindquester. Lindquester later became Hilliard's faculty mentor and adviser. Hilliard's visits during the application process informed him of the studentcentered classroom environment and the unmatched internship opportunities available to Rhodes students: "I remember visiting Rhodes both as a junior in high
school and again toward the end of my senior year. I was drawn to Rhodes by the obvious strength of the student community, the opportunities provided in Memphis through partnerships, particularly with St. Jude, and by the clear focus on student education. At the end of my visit when I decided to come to Rhodes, I remember meeting my mother in Java City (then next to the mailroom in Briggs) and telling her that without question Rhodes was the place for me, and I have never regretted that decision." Even before enrolling, Hilliard was confident he wanted to major in the sciences, if a little unsure of which specific track to take. He desired a generous curriculum in both Biology and Chemistry, but until recently such a major did not exist. Fortunately, the liberal arts environment of Rhodes accommodated his passion by creating the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (BMB) major during his time on campus. "Even as the requirements were being fine-tuned and the major had just been created, I went for it, along with my friend Matthew Cain ('07). We are doing very different things with our major, but are both happy we made the decision." The BMB major allows great flexibility in choosing a future career path, from medicine to research science to industry jobs in pharmacy and biotech. This broad foundation does not make the course load a cakewalk, however. Says Hilliard: "Professor Kesler's intro courses demanded excellence, but he helped students recognize how to rise to that level. The lessons I learned from his courses early in my college career served me well through Rhodes and on through medical school at the University of South Carolina— and who could forget those Saturday mornings canoeing on the Wolf River?" Hilliard offers this generous summary of his Rhodes experience: "My time at Rhodes really provided an excellent preparation for medical school, both in class and through the St. Jude Summer Plus program. My experience in Biochemistry allowed me to focus primarily on new areas like Anatomy, Histology and Physiology my first year. Dr. Lindquester's courses were notorious for being difficult, but were invaluable to me both in my research and as preparation for my time after Rhodes. He was a great resource and sounding board as I decided on my major and as I headed into medicine."
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Ross Hilliard '07 in 2006, as a St. Jude Summer Plus Fellow at Rhodes
BIOLOGISTS By Richard J. Alley
CHALLENGING STUDENTS Gary Lindquester Chair, Rhodes Department of Biology
hodes students today are constantly challenged, and they constantly rise to that challenge. This, says Gary Lindquester, Biology Department chair, is one of the reasons that teaching at Rhodes is so rewarding. "It happens in the classroom with rigorous course material and complex ideas, it's in the teaching laboratory where we develop exercises that train them in the scientific method and in various techniques … and it carries over into the research laboratories for students who work there," he says. "The students are highly competent, they are interested and they have a good work ethic." Lindquester received his undergraduate degree from Furman University, his Ph.D. from Emory and conducted postdoctoral work at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. He has been with Rhodes since 1988. Over that time, he says, the department has mainly changed in terms of added personnel and expanded curriculum. In fact, Biology is now the most popular major at Rhodes. The addition of interdisciplinary majors in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Neuroscience and Environmental Sciences has also factored into an overall expansion. "We're busting at the seams now," Lindquester says of the department's underground location in Frazier Jelke.
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Two primary groups of students entering Biology are those who know they want to be Biology majors and are attracted to the sciences, but are unsure of what they want to do with it after graduation, and those who have medical school or the health professions in their sights. However, the department also attracts students interested in becoming scientists themselves. Those who aren't science majors take Biology I, Introduction to Environmental Sciences or a Topics in Biology course as a Foundations Curriculum laboratory class. As a result, they are "gaining a way of thinking in a particular field," says Lindquester. "We introduce the scientific method in both theory and practice, and students come to see how science is done and how information that comes from scientific research is validated. All of that builds a viewpoint in the students' minds to help make them better lifelong learners and better citizens." Lindquester's own interest is in Immunology and Virology. He continues his research at Rhodes and in collaboration with a group at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, studying the role of a protein known as interleukin 10 (IL-10), which is produced by the human pathogen Epstein Barr virus (EBV). He has generated recombinant murine gammaherpesviruses containing the EBV IL-10 gene to study its effects on infection, latency and pathogenesis in a mouse animal model. Rhodes' relationships with St. Jude and other institutions such as the Baptist Hospital system,
CHANGING COURSE Anahita Rahimi-Saber '13
Professor Gary Lindquester by a DNA model in Frazier Jelke
along with resulting internships, give Rhodes students a distinct advantage over their peers at many other liberal arts colleges. "It's ideal, it's perfect and I think that's one of the reasons we have such a huge draw for premedical and research-oriented students," Lindquester says.
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Anahita Rahimi-Saber was born and raised in Denmark and moved with her family to the United States, and Memphis, in 2000. She attended Lausanne Collegiate School and considered other colleges when the time came to make that important decision. "I thought I wanted to study outside of Memphis, that I knew it too well and had outgrown it by the age of 18," she says. "But when it came down to what I wanted to study, and finances and everything, Rhodes just made the most sense. It was the best decision I've ever made. I realized how important it is to have a family close by, and when I moved to campus it was kind of eye-opening and refreshing to learn how great Memphis really is and how much it has to offer." Rahimi-Saber began her college career in International Studies with designs on becoming a human rights lawyer. But this daughter of a physician took Biology her first year and realized she "enjoyed my Bio class more than my International Studies class." This revelation, along with a visit the following summer to family in Iran, where she was able to shadow a doctor specializing in pulmonology, sealed the deal. "I got to see health care firsthand in a third-world country,q and it was absolutely inspiring; I realized that this is where I belong." Working with advisers and mentors such as Biology professors Carolyn Jaslow and Laura Luque de Johnson, plus being a Rhodes Student Associate in the Biology Department, has given her the hands-on experience and deep understanding
of science that it takes to build a foundation for medical school. Her liberal arts education, she says, has helped her see how not only biology, but many other factors affect the world. This fall fi nds Rahimi-Saber in England and Europe for a study abroad program. Life after graduation will include a year off with time spent working at that hospital in Iran before entering medical school, hopefully at the University of Tennessee-Memphis, where Rhodes has established a great relationship. "They know what a Rhodes student is capable of," she adds. "Memphis," says Rahimi-Saber, "is a great place to be a student."
Veronica Lawson Gunn '91, M.D. Vice President of Population Health Management, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin "I felt smarter when I stepped on campus," Veronica Gunn says as she reminisces about her fi rst visit to Rhodes. Though laughing, she insists there is some truth to that. "My visit at Rhodes was what undoubtedly convinced me that that is where I needed to go, and not to any other place." Not only did the aesthetics of the campus and the academic curriculum draw her in, but the professors—including Alan and Carolyn Jaslow in Biology, with whom she remains friends—"are examples of the faculty's commitment to students, their full development and their full potential." There was no question as to what her major would be. Gunn says she had known she would be a doctor since the age of four. But Rhodes, and its liberal arts education, "required me to develop other aspects of my being, which I fi nd I use on a regular basis—the arts, my knowledge of, and application of, the humanities and history." Those skills are used today in her current capacity as vice president of Population Health Management of Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. The new division serves as a center for research and development of best-practice programs, services and resources to prevent illness, improve wellness and
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manage health needs of unique populations over time, according to a recent press release from the hospital. Despite her administrative title, Gunn says she will continue seeing patients for as long as she can. But the position and her education have helped her to recognize "that what influences the health of an individual or a population is far more than the health care they receive; it is where people live and the influences of their family members." Before joining Children's as chief medical officer of Community Services in January 2011, Gunn was chief medical officer for the Tennessee Department of Health. She also was medical director for the Tennessee Governor's Office of Children's Care Coordination. In 2002, she joined the faculty at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, where she was an active clinician. After graduating from Rhodes, Gunn says she felt "absolutely prepared" for medical school at Vanderbilt, followed by residency at Johns Hopkins. It's preparation she wants for current Rhodes students. In fact, as part of the Rhodes alumni volunteer effort, she has written letters advocating the benefits of a liberal arts education that the college sends to accepted students who have expressed an interest in medicine. Recognizing her accomplishments and connection to students, Rhodes invited Gunn to deliver the Baccalaureate address at Commencement '10. "That broad educational perspective really allows people to be the whole person they can be and bring that value into whatever field it is in which they work."
Brian Wamhoff '96 Vice President of Research & Development, Co-Founder, HemoShear, LLC Associate Professor of Medicine & Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia Brian Wamhoff points to the atmosphere, the opportunity to play soccer and chiefly to members of the faculty such as Jay Blundon and Dee Birnbaum when asked what led to his interest in Rhodes College.
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It was these professors' respective departments—Biology and Business—that would build the foundation for his life's work. Having attended the University of MissouriColumbia for graduate school before the University of Virginia for his fellowship, Wamhoff recently took a path of entrepreneurship and biotech, while balancing life as an academic professor. "I always thought I was going to go into medicine in one way or form," Wamhoff says. He began taking Business courses (he would eventually gain a minor in Business Administration) and conducting research at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital his sophomore year. "I think it was the economics associated with research and the ability to touch human health in a different way, other than through academic medical Brian Wamhoff '96 after receiving the Distinguished Alumnus Award at Homecoming 2011 research, that excited me." opportunities—taking risks and exploring them on He started his first company your own—that I know gives people a competitive during his fellowship and now has three biotech advantage." companies under his belt, including HemoShear, Wamhoff is not one to lie dormant. Admittedly, which concentrates on preclinical drug safety and he has "about a two- to three-year attention span efficacy assessment, and helps its pharmaceutical with any new project." It's what has kept his career, partners understand whether a drug will have a and his life, exciting and moving forward. In much positive or negative effect once it goes into a human. This career, this blending of science and industry, of that time, he's used his gut and instinct to guide him, yet credits Rhodes with teaching him "to ask is one in which his liberal arts foundation has the obvious questions: 'Why are you doing it? Why played an important role. In fact, Rhodes honored is it important, or what is important?' You have to him in 2011 with the Distinguished Alumnus start asking those questions pretty early these days Award at Homecoming. to differentiate yourself from the millions of people Wamhoff sees the medical field as wide-open to who graduate today. Learn to work well with people opportunities for helping people beyond being a and take risks." physician, and if he had to give advice to a fi rstyear student, it would be to "start understanding your options now. It's exposure to those exciting
CHEMISTS By Carson Irwin '08
INTERACTING WITH STUDENTS Darlene Loprete Chair, Department of Chemistry
he Rhodes Chemistry Department in Kennedy Hall has been home to Professor Darlene Loprete since 1990. Over the years, she has seen the department evolve into what it is today. Just last year a new Chemistry curriculum was implemented: In the past, students began their major requirements by taking two sections of Introductory Chemistry followed by two sections of Organic Chemistry. Now the two intro courses have been combined into Foundations of Chemistry, and the majors can proceed to the Organic classes and then into Analytical Chemistry. Loprete hopes that the new track will "better prepare the Chemistry majors for certain kinds of topics so they have more chemical knowledge before they go into advanced courses." Interacting with her students at different levels is one of Loprete's favorite parts about teaching. She enjoys "seeing students develop into scientists and monitoring their development from the day they step in." As upperclass students, about 50 percent of Chemistry majors will conduct research either on or off campus. It's not uncommon for many of these undergrads to present their research alongside graduate and doctoral level students at major chemistry conferences across the nation. And of course it's satisfying to send the seniors off as alumni to pursue diverse, interesting and successful careers. "Just the other day I got an email from a former student thanking me for being hard in Biochemistry because it's paying off now," she says.
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"The equipment the department has allows faculty to conduct high-quality research that leads to publications and grants," says Loprete. "Our students regularly use the same equipment for class-related labs and research with faculty." However, she has been around long enough to see Kennedy Hall undergo some changes. One of the five original campus buildings constructed in 1925, the structure has stoic beauty, but that beauty comes with a feeling of antiquity. Since the building was renovated in 1968, the faculty research and teaching laboratories have been updated periodically. But in terms of the available facilities for students and faculty, Loprete's ideal lab space would be configured a little differently. Currently, the Rhodes Chemistry labs are designed with traditional long, stationary bench tops. "These days they manufacture movable benches that are more conducive to group work. They might have a screen in the room," she says. "They also might have a room adjacent to the lab so you can do lectures and go back and forth." Loprete is at home teaching science majors in her historic building, but after teaching a nonscience course on AIDS several years ago, she got a different perspective on the Rhodes student. "It's nice to see that nonscience majors were excited learning about science," she explains. "Even though they were not interested in science as a career, they still had a healthy respect for it, interest in it and actually had a pretty good aptitude for it." To nurture an apparent curiosity in a variety of subjects and to support the interdisciplinary goal of the liberal arts education, Loprete dreams of integrating more of the sciences into the overall curriculum. She envisions an interdisciplinary program similar
Professor Darlene Loprete in the Chemistry storeroom
to "Search" in the humanities that would mesh the sciences with various subjects and perhaps incorporate various case studies throughout.
Tony Capizzani '95, M.D. Assistant Professor of Surgery, Case Western University School of Medicine Assistant Professor of Surgery, Lerner College of Medicine Cleveland Clinic Staff Surgeon, Division of Trauma, Surgery Critical Care and Acute Care Surgery Tony Capizzani grew up a long way from Rhodes. But as it goes with so many other prospective students, the "beautiful campus with a downtown kind of feel" had him hooked at first sight. How did the young New
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Jerseyan wind up a Chemistry major? He always held a general interest in science as well as analytical thinking. "My father was a Chemistry major," he laughs. "So maybe it was something in my blood." Capizzani credits the Chemistry faculty as major influences on both his academic and professional trajectories. He cites professor David Jeter and former faculty member Bradford Pendley as key mentors, but he remembers instantly "hitting it off" with the whole department. "I was really attracted to the mentorship they provided," he says. "We were like family." The liberal arts education he received at Rhodes has taken him far in his medical career. "Rhodes taught me more than just how to develop an analytical mind in Chemistry," says Capizzani. "It gave me great perspective as far as publishing papers." In addition, the interdisciplinary nature of the Rhodes education taught
him how to work with his peers and feel comfortable during public presentations. After graduating from Rhodes, Capizzani joined a research team at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in the division of Experimental Oncology and Hematology. He became inspired by the direct correlation between his work in the lab and treatment for patients. It was that experience that eventually propelled him to medical school at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. He then completed his general surgery residency at Wake Forest University, followed by a surgical critical care fellowship at the University of Michigan. Aside from performing trauma and acute care surgeries at the world famous Cleveland Clinic, Capizzani is an assistant professor at two medical schools—Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Both institutions pride themselves on their clinical and problem-based curricula, as opposed to a didactic teaching style. During his time in medical school, Capizzani remembers learning a topic ("perhaps Biochemistry") in the first year and then learning its actual application in the last two years. These days, he says, lessons consist of more "problem-based teaching where students learn both topics at the same time, and how basic science is intertwined with disease processes. For example, I teach students a session on pediatric abdominal pain. And within that lecture we may talk about Biochemistry and how it applies to acid/base regulation in a neonatal disease called pyloric stenosis." In the learning and teaching departments, he couldn't have been better prepared.
A PERFECT BLEND Ashley Tufton '13
New Orleans native Ashley Tufton is now in her senior year as a Rhodes Chemistry major. There's no doubt she has carved her own path here, but one can't help point out that she is the fourth Tufton to attend Rhodes in the past five years. Not only that, her siblings Margaret '08 (Biology), Michael '09 (Biology) and Anne '10 (Biochemistry) were all science majors. Ashley chalks it up mostly to coincidence, although their father is a dentist. While her family legacy had
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something to do with her decision to come to Rhodes, it was really the intimate campus environment that attracted her the most. As a first-year, Tufton found the liberal arts curriculum not only academically stimulating but also key in her decision to pursue a degree in Chemistry. She took a wide variety of classes early on, one of which was an introductory Chemistry course. While she thoroughly enjoyed classes in International Studies, History and Religious Studies, she simply "liked Chemistry the best. The professors were so nice," she remembers, "and it's a smaller department so you get to know them one-on-one." Unlike many students on a science track, Tufton did not have to decide among majors. Often, students will take both Biology and Chemistry classes before choosing one or the other. "I haven't taken any Biology courses," she explains. "I really just ended up liking Chemistry that much." Tufton is currently conducting research alongside professor Mauricio Cafiero, who happened to be her very first Chemistry instructor. "Dr. Cafiero has been very helpful in introducing me to new fields of study, like Computational Chemistry, which is what I research." She studies the difference between boronated and nonboronated intercalants in small nucleic acid models. Here's the translation for the 99 percent of us: Tufton is studying a method for chemotherapeutic drugs to be delivered into the body—important work, especially for an undergrad. In fact, she has presented her research at several conferences, one of which was the American Chemical Society conference, an event that usually hosts anywhere from 10,000-15,000 scientists. Rhodes undergrads often present alongside graduate students and postdocs. But Tufton didn't completely let go of her love of the humanities. Thanks to pure interest, she decided to pursue a minor in Religious Studies. She even joined a group of Rhodes students for the Holocaust Studies Maymester in Europe this year. If the academic load doesn't sound challenging enough, Tufton also participates in her sorority, works the Helpdesk in the library and is serving as the teaching assistant for the Chemistry and Archaeology lab.
Sid Strickland '68 Dean of Graduate and Post Graduate Studies, Vice President for Educational Affairs, Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Neurobiology and Genetics, The Rockefeller University
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Sid Strickland grew up in Memphis, so the Rhodes campus was not unfamiliar territory by the time he decided where to attend college. His father, Sidney Strickland Sr. '36, and sister, Priscilla '63, were also graduates. "I knew a lot about the college," says Strickland. "I valued the broad liberal arts education you got there. And I knew at that time, they were already strong in the sciences." Strickland began his undergraduate career as a Mathematics major but after struggling through a required "abstract" math course, he sought the advice of his professor, John H. Christie. Christie suggested that he switch to a scientific field with a strong quantitative base. "So I switched to Chemistry and stayed in it from that point on," says Strickland. "I realized that this was an area where I could use my interest in and love of Mathematics in a practical way." While studying in this new area, Strickland became enthralled with the burgeoning field of Biochemistry. "Rhodes didn't actually have a Biochemistry course," explains Sid Strickland '68 Strickland. "So I went to see Dr. Lyons." In keeping with the personalized attention Rhodes students get, Chemistry professor Harold Lyons was willing to guide the young scientist through publications on Molecular Biology. Strickland affectionately recalls that those one-onone tutoring sessions made all the difference: "At that point, I had found my calling." During his senior year at Rhodes, Strickland happened upon a transformative opportunity to conduct research at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. His experience working in the state-of-theart lab helped solidify his research skills at a higher level than was readily available at Rhodes at the time.
Strickland is still very connected to the research institution and has been involved in maintaining the strong relationship between Rhodes and St. Jude. "The thing that's great about this connection is that it combines the wonderful aspect of a liberal arts education with personalized attention to students to research at a world-class institution," says Strickland. Strickland went on to receive his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. As an administrator at The Rockefeller University in New York, he oversees all the educational activities at the university. As a professor and researcher, he and his team concentrate on neurodegenerative diseases. He says he started out as a developmental Biologist, but one day some years ago, his lab observed something fascinating about the nervous system. That was a turning point in his studies. "Neither I nor anyone in my lab was a trained Neuroscientist, but we took a leap of faith." That leap led Strickland's lab to gradually switch its emphasis from developmental Biochemistry to Neuroscience. They have led groundbreaking studies in the realms of stress, alcohol withdrawal and, most recently, Alzheimer's disease. Strickland came to another important study, one that affects him personally, along what he describes as an "idiosyncratic pathway." His first science teacher, his sister, Priscilla, a Ph.D. in Biology, was severely affected by multiple sclerosis. "One system we are working on is relevant to MS; it involves how nerves are insulated," he says. "I never set out to study it. By the same token, if we do something relevant, it would engender a tremendous personal satisfaction." Recognizing his considerable contributions to his field, Rhodes awarded Strickland an honorary doctor of science degree in 2006. "I tremendously value my education at Rhodes," he says. "It was just indispensable for what I have done."
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTISTS By Scarlett D'Anna '12
Rosanna Cappellato Assistant Professor, Biology Chair, Environmental Studies/Environmental Sciences Program Committee Environmental Studies and Environmental Sciences are new additions to the Rhodes curriculum. Can you discuss their evolution? Students really fought for these programs. Lee Bryant '11 was the first student to major in Environmental Studies. This was before the program had been established, and she designed her own major, combining Environmental Studies and Theatre. Lee's experience told us two very important things: First, there's very strong interest in this area; second, the structure already existed within the college to offer an Environmental major. We also have very dedicated professors. It's not only the classic science departments, but also those like History, International Studies, Anthropology, Religious Studies and English that are involved. All of these pieces within the college, professors and students with this common interest and commitment, made the creation of the program possible. How do you see Environmental Studies and Environmental Sciences developing in the future? I think the students are really interested, and so far the college has been very supportive. Moving forward, I would like to see more faculty join the Environmental Sciences part of the program. At the moment we're slightly stronger on the Environmental Studies side, and in the future I hope to further expand the Sciences and offer even greater variety in this area.
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What kinds of opportunities are available to students who major in Environmental Studies or Environmental Sciences? There are several professors—including Jennifer Sciubba in International Studies, Tait Keller in History and myself—who all do research with the students. There are also opportunities for credited internships in Memphis with organizations such as the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy, Nature Conservancy, Livable Memphis and Bridges USA. I believe this is one of the strengths of the program. By working with local institutions, we can rely on and create ties with the community around us. What is the most satisfying aspect of teaching at Rhodes? There's a very high quality of students here. They aren't in school just to get a degree. They are here because they are involved, both professionally and personally. There's interest, engagement and passion on their part. As a mentor you partner with students and establish a dialogue with them, and the students themselves contribute ideas as you work together. You see them growing and learning. The commitment and the seriousness of the students here make working at Rhodes as a professor very special.
Cary Fowler '71 Executive Director, The Global Crop Diversity Trust Rome, Italy Please discuss your current work with the Global Crop Diversity Trust. What are your responsibilities as executive director? The Trust is an international organization housed
within the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome. We hope to ensure the permanent conservation of the biological foundation of agriculture, a goal I've always believed we would achieve by carrying out our work with vision and integrity. As executive director I have overall responsibility for all aspects of the organization. I am not a laboratory scientist by any stretch of the imagination, but I am engaged in conceptualizing and designing a global system for conserving crop diversity, knitting together hundreds of seed banks around the world. This involves elements of Biology, Genetics, Ecology and these days, even Climate Science. And it requires that I have some understanding of institutions, as well as international and intellectual property law. All of these areas are essential to constructing a global system that is composed both of genes and of countries, institutions and people— and is functional and sustainable. What attracted you to Rhodes? I applied to two colleges and Rhodes was the better of the two! I also valued its size and that it was a liberal arts college. Finally, it was in my hometown and my father and aunt had both graduated from Rhodes, so in a sense I grew up with the college in my consciousness. Did your major studies prepare you for your career? I had a bridge major that combined Political Science and Psychology—my way of trying to major in Sociology in the absence of a Sociology Department. I certainly
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Cary Fowler '71 and President Bill Troutt, Commencement 2011
didn't have a career planned out when I left college, but Rhodes gave me what I needed to succeed professionally: exposure to many academic disciplines, critical analytical skills and the confidence to look beyond artificial disciplinary boundaries. Although my work is situated in the biological sciences, my job requires not just knowledge of agriculture, biology and genetics, but also an understanding of politics and institutions. In other words, it's a "liberal arts job." Rhodes gives students the chance to build a foundation for their careers, as well as for the interests and values that help people lead fulfilling lives. I don't know of many important problems in the world today that can be addressed competently within a single academic discipline, and this is why I think exposure to and appreciation of multiple disciplines is so important in college. I left Rhodes with a high level of comfort in applying interdisciplinary approaches to my work. For me, this has made all the difference, and it largely explains my professional success.
Christopher Wilson '95 Research Scientist, Hydroscience & Engineering The University of Iowa
Earth Systems Science and English. It was at Rhodes where my love of water fully developed. Growing up in Cleveland, OH, we had the dubious distinction of having our river catch on fire. Our burning river was what led to Earth Day, and this—coupled with many a long weekend enjoying the Mississippi River at Rhodes—fueled my passion for water and started me on my career path. Where do you see the field of Environmental Science moving? These days the sciences are becoming more interdisciplinary, and projects tend to have a bigger scope. Additionally, studies must address the broader impacts of their research, including how to be transformative to multiple areas. Universities are finally catching up with this thought by developing clusters of faculty and researchers around specific topics rather than departments. For example, here at Iowa we have a cluster on water sustainability. How has your experience at Rhodes contributed to your career? With Environmental Studies, I feel it is very important to grasp the "big picture." Many of the driving forces behind environmental issues, like degrading soil and water quality, result from a series of interactions and feedbacks between different properties and processes. To help develop this big picture, scientists must have a breadth of knowledge. A key characteristic of a liberal arts education is the range of the course load. Students are exposed to courses from both the sciences and humanities under the assumption that common links can be drawn between the different disciplines. Knowledge, regardless of the topic, can offer unique perspectives on addressing problems and identifying trends. My time at Rhodes, where I focused in Ecology, Earth Systems Science and English, rounded me as a researcher and a person. I can draw from these experiences to help address key questions in my teaching and research.
Please discuss your research at the University of Iowa. I am a research scientist in IIHR—Hydroscience & Engineering at the University of Iowa, one of the nation's oldest and premier environmental hydraulics research laboratories. I am part of a larger team working on many studies related to the movement of water, sediment and attached nutrients through watersheds. One of my current projects includes examining the temporal and spatial variability of sediment movement using stable and radioisotopic tracers through agricultural watersheds. We are looking at how erosion and deposition of soils and sediments vary in different places and at different times. By identifying where the sediment is coming from and when it is moving, we will better be able to target our remedial actions, thereby helping both the farmers and the communities downstream.
What led you to this line of work? I graduated from Rhodes with a B.S. in Biology, focusing along the Ecology track, but I also minored in
Why did you choose to attend Rhodes? Ever since I was a baby, I'd visited Memphis on the
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Alix Matthews '14
Alix Matthews '14, and Biology professors Michael Collins, Rosanna Cappellato and Sarah Boyle
weekends with my mom. Once I became acquainted with the city, I fell in love with it. When I came to Rhodes for the first time, it was the variety of trees that initially caught my eye—which makes sense now that I know the college is a registered arboretum. I had also heard that the Rhodes science departments were superior, so that's what really sold me. Can you describe a typical semester? Environmental Sciences is an interdisciplinary major, so I'm able to take interesting classes in departments that I would not normally be involved in, like History, Art and English. I usually sign up for one or two science classes and the rest humanities, to keep things balanced. I also try to take a "random" course that is unrelated to anything else I'm studying, so I will always be learning something new. What was your study abroad experience in Namibia like? Has it complemented your learning at Rhodes? The Namibia Maymester has motivated me to study a greater variety of environmental issues. Environmental Science is more than "going green;" it's social, political, economic, natural and, in some cases, religious. The trip to Namibia opened my eyes to a whole new realm of the environment in which we as humans live. Many great problems lie in the clash between the environment and
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the economy, and it's difficult to find the middle ground where environmental sustainability meets economic sensibility. Eventually, this is where I want my studies to go–Environmental Economics. Which of your faculty mentors have been most influential to you? In Biology, Professor Michael Collins challenges me within the classroom and beyond it, and he encourages me to think outside the box, both in terms of course work and life choices. Dr. Cappellato has taught me what it means to be passionate. She pushes me to think critically about what I learn and to ask the tough questions. Do you think your major is equipping you well for future pursuits? Eventually, I would like to go to graduate school and get a doctorate in some "–ology" related to my interests in the natural sciences. I'm not sure which, because I feel there's still so much left for me to learn! Regardless, I know my major is preparing me well for whatever I choose to accomplish after graduation. Every day I'm reminded of how incredibly relative the things I'm learning in the classroom are to the world outside of Rhodes.
NEUROSCIENTISTS By Martha Hunter Shepard '66
PARALLEL LIVES Drs. Jim Robertson '53 Jon Robertson '68
eurosurgeons and brothers Jim Robertson '53 and Jon Robertson '68, 15 years apart in age— and miles apart while growing up—finally found their lives aligned after Rhodes and medical school. A s a young boy Jim, who was born in McComb, MS, moved with his parents to Memphis, where he grew up and graduated from high school, Rhodes and the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. Jon took a reverse route. He was born in Memphis, but when his father retired, moved, as a child, with his parents to a farm outside his father's hometown of Independence, LA. Jon's first year of college was at a public university in Louisiana, but Jim, by then a practicing neurosurgeon, wasn't having any of that, so he persuaded his brother to come to Rhodes. Once here, Jon played football, majored in science and graduated from UT Memphis medical school, as Jim had. Their lives were finally coming together. Rhodes didn't offer a major in Neuroscience in the 1950s, so Jim took the premed track—three years at Rhodes, then right into UT College of Medicine. It garnered him plenty of credits, but no official Rhodes degree. By the time Jon entered med school in the 1960s, he had earned a four-year degree, majoring in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. Jim decided on
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Neurosurgery during medical school, prompted by the untimely death of a younger brother from meningitis. Jon decided on Neurosurgery after a rotation in Pathology and a "fruitful" internship. Both have practiced at Memphis' renowned Semmes-Murphey Neurologic & Spine Institute, which constitutes the Department of Neurosurgery at UT Memphis. Both Robertsons have served as department chair; in fact, Jon took over from Jim when Jim retired. The brothers have also served as president of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. So close has been their association, says Jon, that "for years, at national professional meetings we attended together, people were always telling my brother how happy they were to meet his son." The brothers are quick to credit Rhodes with the excellent preparation they received for medical school. Says Jon, "My favorite professor at Rhodes was Harold Lyons. That's who I did my Biochemistry under. That was one of the big courses in the first year of medical school, and I aced it. If I hadn't gone to Rhodes, I probably would have had trouble in medical school." Jim recalls "Man" as his favorite course outside the sciences, especially his professors A.P. Kelso and John Osman. Jim and his wife have established the James T. and Valeria B. Robertson Chair in Biological Science at Rhodes, currently held by Biology professor Mary Miller. "It's given me great pleasure," he says. "I feel I've given back to Rhodes a little bit of what it gave me."
SINGING IN THE BRAIN Michael Long '97 Assistant Professor of Neuroscience New York University Medical Center Michael Long was one of those students who loved Neuroscience so much when it wasn't yet part of the Rhodes curriculum that he earned two degrees, a B.S. in Biology and B.A. in Psychology. After Rhodes, he got his Ph.D. at Brown and did a postdoctoral fellowship at MIT. For the past 2½ years, he has been an assistant professor of Neuroscience at the New York University Medical Center, where he directs a team of researchers in addition to teaching courses. In his lab, Long and his research team study how groups of brain cells work together to produce skilled behaviors. They make many of their observations from an unlikely source—a tiny Australian songbird called a zebra finch. Long and colleagues use cutting-edge experimental techniques, many developed in Long's lab, in order to determine "how all the cells in the songbirds' brains work together to make that song happen." Michael Long '97 Songbirds, like humans, have to learn their vocalizations, Long says. "A young songbird will listen to a tutor, often its father, early on. Even with limited exposure to that song, the bird will remember and start practicing it." After countless practice attempts over the first few months of its life, the bird will be able to sing. In the Long lab, while the bird is singing, scientists monitor and manipulate the activity of the bird's brain cells with small devices that can be harmlessly mounted to the bird's head in the forebrain area, Long explains. "We can peer into the electrical activity of single neurons while this bird is singing." From these recordings, he gains insight into what underlies the production of the song and, more broadly, can
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begin to unravel how other skilled behaviors may be produced. To determine what brain regions are relevant for further study, Long and colleagues developed a simple method for pinpointing the areas responsible for creating these behaviors. "We can manipulate the temperature of the nucleus, drop the temperature by a few degrees in this area, but leave the rest of the brain completely unaltered. When we do this, the bird sings in slow motion." The research has direct application for humans. Long has teamed up with a group of neurosurgeons at the University of Iowa, for whom he has built a similar device that is used in the operating room. "In surgery, the doctors want to find any area of the brain that is involved in higher level motor function, like speech, so as not to damage it during a procedure. The current methods of intraoperative brain mapping carry a certain degree of risk. I proposed using a cooling probe that a surgeon can march around different areas of the brain while the patient is awake and talking. If you're over a speech-related area you can hear a person's speech slow down. Now you can safely identify these areas and be careful to leave those alone. This technique has already been used in a cohort of patients with extremely encouraging results." Long had mentors in the area of Neuroscience. At Rhodes, "Robert Strandburg in Psychology was a major mentor and inspiration, and he continues to be. He taught me everything I needed to know to fall in love with this field. Biology professor Jay Blundon, now at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, was another important mentor." While at Rhodes, Long's love of research sparked an idea—a science symposium for students. With college and faculty support, especially from professors Strandburg and Natalie Person, Long founded URCAS—the annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Arts Symposium. The first year saw 30 student
posters from science majors, but Long thought at the time it should include people in the arts and humanities. The next year, it did. Today, URCAS includes hundreds of student submissions from many fields.
THE INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH Robert Strandburg Associate Professor of Psychology Neuroscience Program Committee
"I don't like the term 'liberal arts and sciences.' It's redundant," declares Robert Strandburg, associate professor of Psychology and a member of Rhodes' Neuroscience Program Committee. No wonder. At Rhodes, Neuroscience is a six-year-old interdisciplinary major designed to provide students "a nuanced understanding of the methodological challenges and conceptual issues that lie at the heart of efforts to understand the function of the nervous system and its role in behavior," according to the college catalogue. Thus, Neuroscience majors take courses in Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Philosophy, Physics, Psychology and Mathematics. The catalogue says it "makes it all the more apparent to students that the conventional boundaries that have often separated seemingly incompatible disciplines from one another evaporate when we are presented with new intellectual challenges." Meeting those new intellectual challenges was Strandburg's mission, along with several other Rhodes faculty, in creating the Neuroscience program in 2006. "Before then, there were a number of students who put together bridge majors with courses principally from Psychology, Biology and Chemistry, in effect, creating their own Neuroscience major. Today, there are four neuroscientists on the faculty, many of our incoming students express an interest in the discipline and the number of Neuroscience majors has increased steadily," he says. Strandburg, who has been at Rhodes for 24 years, came from UCLA, where he earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in Psychology. In addition to Neuroscience majors' course work, Strandburg stresses that the students are expected to do research. It is in the laboratory where students learn
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the practice and discipline of scientific research. All of the Neuroscience faculty have several students working in their labs, and there are exciting opportunities off campus, he says. "A number of Neuroscience majors have participated in the Summer Plus program at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital," he explains. "This is an intensive research experience that pairs Rhodes students with St. Jude scientists, placing them in laboratories for two summers (full time) and the academic year between (part time), and there is now a similar program exclusively for Neuroscience majors at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, which Jim Robertson '53 initially established." Strandburg says he is pleased to report that this work frequently leads to authorship on papers submitted to scientific journals. Yet Strandburg remains committed to the role of a program of liberal arts study in the education of scientists: "The critical thinking and communication skills, as well as the ability to stretch one's imagination beyond the boundaries of current scientific thinking, are at the core of being a great scientist. Science is not just data collection. You have to ask the right questions. These are the skills best fostered at a liberal arts college."
FIGURING OUT NEW THINGS Piper Carroll '13
Piper Carroll, from near Baltimore, decided to major in Neuroscience before coming to Rhodes. "In high school, I took a Biology class and a Psychology class. I couldn't decide which one I liked better, and then I realized there was a beautiful subject called Neuroscience." Last semester, Carroll, one of 14 Neuro majors and the John Chester Frist '28 Scholarship recipient, worked in Biology professor David Kabelik's Behavioral Neuroendocrinology lab. "I'm working there now, and will do so in the spring semester," she says. "So far we have observed the social behavior of lizards—males with males, and males with females. We dissect their brains and record the activities of different areas of the brain, trying to determine which sections are active during social behavior so we can make a sort of map of the brain. We study the sections
Professors Robert Strandburg and David Kabelik, and Piper Carroll '13, in the Kabelik lab
under a state-of-the-art microscope in the lab that takes pictures on its own of every single slice we have, and we can look at them on a computer." "I think Neuro is the most interesting major. How little we really know about the field—you have to get used to the fact that the things you are learning in class might be completely different a year later. Nothing is definite. We'll be sitting in class and Dr. Kabelik will be going over the way hormones in the brain work and will say, 'We think it is this, but it could be this, or it could be that.' It's very different from some of the other sciences that have been studied for so long, where you know things as fact. You really have to question everything and keep wondering because we don't know everything about the brain. I love figuring all these new things out. Who knows—I could find out something amazing down in my lab in Frazier Jelke one day." Besides Professor Kabelik, Carroll counts among her faculty mentors Psychology professor Robert Strandburg and her adviser, Psychology
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professor Kim Gerecke. She also admires professor Larryn Peterson, who teaches classes in Organic Chemistry, and is "glad that it's incorporated it into Neuroscience." Off campus, says Carroll, "I've had a Biology internship at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, which gave me the opportunity to shadow doctors in many different areas." But it's not all science for Carroll. "This fall I'm taking Genetics, Organic Chemistry and a History course, and doing research in Professor Kabelik's lab. I enjoy taking the requirements outside of my major. It's amazing how much my classes seem to have fit together. I'll be in one class that I think has nothing to do with my major and things will start popping up that I just learned about in my Neuro class. It's very surprising, but it's really great. That's the thing about Neuroscience too—there are subjects like Philosophy and Psychology in the curriculum. It's an interdisciplinary major—you get everything."
PHYSICISTS By Richard J. Alley
TO THE MOON Lars Monia '15
fter only one year at Rhodes, Lars Monia was given the keys to the moonbuggy, so to speak. The Great Moonbuggy Race is a NASA project for high school and college students who build simulated lunar rovers. It's a challenge, says NASA, "to inspire them in Engineering and explore Engineering opportunities and possibilities." Monia was asked to recruit other students, put together a team to manage, and was given a prospective budget by Physics chair Brent Hoffmeister. "Hosting a team for the first time was pretty challenging," says Monia. "I had to teach everyone how to do the engineering programs and how the design process works and what the project even was—what in the world is a moonbuggy?" He appreciates the help he received from Glen Davis, the manager of the Physics shop, saying, "there is no way we would have gotten this done without him." The team, named Rookie of the Year in the 2012 Great Moonbuggy Race, is out to take top honors this spring. Monia, who has known he wanted to be an engineer since the fourth grade, came to Rhodes with a twoyear drafting certificate acquired while in high school in Cape Girardeau, MO. He also came with the idea of entering a dual-degree program in engineering with Washington University, though he's reconsidered and is now looking at an opportunity with the U.S. Navy in its nuclear submarine officer program, with graduate school to follow. He works very closely with Hoffmeister and Michael
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Sheard, professor of Mathematics and Computer Science, who, he says, "has faith in me." Both men have given him the opportunity and room to run with his ideas and have become role models for his ultimate goal. In addition to being an engineer, Monia says, "My real dream is to be a professor. I've always wanted to teach and that's the aspect I take on with anything I do. If I'm going to lead a project, I like to teach other people how to do it and teach the team how to work together … I have more fun teaching than doing anything else." With a prospective double major in Physics and Math, he's jumped into his college academics with classes in Physics and Calculus. As a future teacher, however, he sees the value in a well-rounded education from Rhodes and has taken piano with plans to take art classes later on. "I like to create," Monia says. "I like to play music and do art and build moonbuggies, but at the end of the day I'd rather teach somebody else how to do the same things."
STAYING CONNECTED Charles Robertson Jr. '65
For Charles Robertson, a Rhodes education began not when he walked on campus for the first time as a freshman, but when his parents did as students. Thanks to Charles William Robertson Sr. '29 and Lola Ellis Robertson '33 being scientists themselves, Charles Jr. may have been looking at a preordained career. "I had some interest in Engineering, but by the end of my senior year in high school I was pretty much hooked on Physics," Robertson says. "My father, though a
Some of the members of the Rhodes 2012 Great Moonbuggy Race at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL, left to right: Joey McPherson '14, Vince Viola '15, Morgan Smathers '14, Brad Hensley '12, Lars Monia '15
biologist, had a significant interest in the physical sciences and encouraged my interest in Physics." Once on campus, Robertson was under the watchful eye of professor Jack Taylor '44, whom he credits for the good, solid department, and Professor Fritz Stauffer, who "was a significant player in the careers of all the graduates in my, and other, classes. He had a very complex life, and could draw on those experiences in guiding and advising students." During Robertson's college years, Physics occupied the basement of Kennedy Hall, the place where the major came alive for him. "For me, the big value in the Physics Department was the stuff we had to experiment with," he says. "I did a number of experiments on my own, some of which were beyond the usual, it seems. I cannot imagine taking Physics and doing only the formalized laboratory experiments and not going beyond my own. It was the 'going beyond' that made me what I am today, I believe." That "going beyond" propelled him to graduate school at Florida State University, where he was able to do a lot of instrument design work, the same kind with which he's involved to this day. Robertson, a founder of NanoDrop Technologies, sold the company to Thermo Fisher Scientific in 2007.
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Under his leadership, NanoDrop pioneered microvolume instrumentation techniques that allow scientists to quickly and easily quantify and assess purity of small volume liquid samples such as solutions of proteins and nucleic acids. Not one to sit idle, though, he explains, "I'm supposed to be retired, but as I often put it, I've flunked retirement for the third time." He has recently gone to work with another instrumentation company. A Rhodes trustee, Robertson has more than kept up with the sciences at Rhodes. In honor of one of his mentors, in 2005 he and his wife, Patricia, both members of the Benefactors Circle, established the Jack H. Taylor Fellowship in Physics. In addition, there is the Dr. Charles W. Robertson Jr. Endowment for Student Research and Engagement in Physics and a state-of-theart Zeiss Confocal Microscope System he provided the Biology Department. He stays in contact with science faculty, always dropping by to talk shop when he's on campus. Grateful for his untiring support, in 2008, the college awarded him the Distinguished Service Medal. "It was very good for me to be pushed into the liberal arts studies; if I hadn't been, I would have hung out in the world of science and engineering and shunned the liberal arts," he says. "I think the breadth of the whole
of a Rhodes experience is very valuable as one moves through life and career."
Harry Swinney '61 Sid Richardson Foundation Regents Chair The University of Texas at Austin Harry Swinney heard about Rhodes College—then Southwestern—from several people, including the family doctor, James Gladney '38, in his Presbyterian church in Homer, LA. "I asked my parents if I could visit Southwestern and they drove me there for a two-day visit in the spring of 1955," Swinney recalls. He never considered any other option and enrolled with plans to obtain two bachelor's degrees in five years in the 3-2 plan, with three years at Rhodes followed by two at Georgia Tech. In his freshman year, however, he took a Physics class from professor Jack Taylor '44 and "became excited about the subject." It was a class that would turn his plans, and life, around. In honor of Taylor, Swinney in 2000 established the Jack H. Taylor Scholarship at Rhodes for students majoring in the physical and biological sciences. Swinney went on to get his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1968. His first faculty appointment was at New York University. He then moved to the City College of New York, where he remained till 1978, when he accepted a position at the University of Texas at Austin, where he currently holds the Sid Richardson Foundation Regents Chair for the Department of Physics. With accolades and accomplishments almost too numerous to mention, Swinney is a noted authority on nonlinear dynamics, instabilities, pattern formation, chaos, and phase transitions. He was the founding director of the Center for Nonlinear Dynamics at Texas in 1985 and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1992. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics. It's a compelling career that began with a senior honors project in a former coal bin in the basement of Kennedy Hall, "which was nice and dark, good for optical work even though it was a bit dirty."
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"I constructed an experiment to study the spectra of thin exploding wires," he says. "I often worked late hours in the night … I had hoped to achieve wire temperatures of 200,000 degrees Fahrenheit, but to my disappointment, the maximum temperature measured was only 10,000 degrees." His experience at Rhodes also introduced him to outreach activities which, he says, continue to excite him. He co-directs an annual two-week UNESCO-sponsored "Hands-On Research Schools" for young career scientists from developing countries. "Philosophy, History and English literature courses at Southwestern opened up a world to me that I would not have known if I had gone to 'Big State U' where I would have undoubtedly spent the minimal time on courses outside of Math and Physics," Swinney says. "At Southwestern I had friends from diverse fields instead of from only Math and Physics. The most direct effect of my Southwestern experience, aside from learning how to do research, has been that it taught me how to write a story. When I began writing scientific papers as a graduate student, I soon appreciated that my Southwestern education gave me a great advantage over most Physics grad students."
REACHING FOR THE HEIGHTS Brent Hoffmeister Chair, Department of Physics
Research teams in Geneva, Switzerland, recently provided proof of the elusive Higgs Boson particle, making the kind of news that gets physicists, and future physicists, excited. Closer to home, Rhodes Physics professor and department chair Brent Hoffmeister is excited about newer courses being offered, including Nuclear Physics, Engineering Physics, Medical Physics, and Fluid Dynamics. This semester, a course on Accelerator Physics, the sort of science that gave the world the Higgs Boson, is being offered for the first time. Passing along his passion for the sciences is paramount in Hoffmeister's teaching. "Personally, I like how teaching and scientific research have fused together to become the same sort of thing for me at Rhodes," he says. "I really enjoy involving students in my research, and I think it is an important experience for the students too. A great way to learn about science is to function as a scientist."
The 1963 Alaska total solar eclipse expedition, front row, left to right: Charles Robertson '65, Charles Brandon '65, Bill Boyd '65, Jack Aldridge '65, Shannon Ball '65. Second row: Jack Streete '60, Bob MacQueen '60, Rhodes prof. Harvey Hanson, machinist Gardiner Ruffin, prof. Jack Taylor '44, president Peyton Rhodes, electronics technician A.C. "Ace" Emery, High Altitude Observatory's Keith Watson
Hoffmeister did his undergraduate work at Wabash College in Indiana, and received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Washington University in St. Louis. A part of the Rhodes family since 1996, he cites Physics professor emeritus Jack Taylor '44 as an inspiration, not only for himself, but for the department as a whole. "He had a huge impact," says Hoffmeister. "Jack has an incredible passion for Physics and for Rhodes. He created some truly engaging out-of-the-classroom opportunities for students that our Physics alumni still excitedly speak about 40 or 50 years later. Jack inspired me to seek similar experiences for our Physics majors." Taylor took Physics students and faculty, including college president and physicist Peyton Rhodes, on a total solar eclipse expedition to Alaska in 1963, a tradition professors Bob MacQueen '60 and Jack Streete '60 continued, although to Hawaii, in 1991. MacQueen and Streete also involved students in a total solar eclipse experiment out of Panama City, Panama, in 1998. This time the experiments were conducted from a C130 aircraft specially modified for observing the eclipse. Through Taylor, the college began in the early 1970s a long and productive connection with the High Altitude Observatory, the solar physics research branch of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, CO. Hoffmeister likewise has reached for the heights. In 2006 and 2008, he helped supervise two student groups' experiments in NASA's Microgravity University,
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a program that enables undergraduates to perform microgravity experiments aboard NASA's DC-9 aircraft, the "Weightless Wonder," at Johnson Space Center in Houston. Spring 2012 saw a team of Rhodes Physics students in NASA's Great Moonbuggy Race in Huntsville, AL. The competition is open to students from around the world who build their own buggies and propel them over a simulated lunar terrain. Another "out-of-the-classroom" opportunity, called Memphysics, is a course Physics faculty at Rhodes designed to provide students the chance to engage in scientific education outreach to the Memphis community. "This course is unique because it lets the students become the teachers," Hoffmeister says. Communicating scientific research and findings to the broader community is an important skill and one that is stressed by the Physics faculty. To that end, in addition to the outreach programs, there are internships and fellowships both on and off campus. "We also encourage our students to present their research at scientific meetings and to help faculty prepare papers for publication in scientific journals," says Hoffmeister. "I think we do a good job of engaging students in Physics while maintaining a balanced approach to their overall education," Hoffmeister says. "Preparation for careers in science and engineering can be very technical and focused. The liberal arts curriculum at Rhodes provides our students an important breadth of learning."
SCIENCES At Rhodes A Case for the Support of the
quick read of this issue of Rhodes provides a glimpse of how our alums, faculty and students are working to advance science, improve their communities, develop solutions to real-world problems and address some of society's greatest challenges. Today at Rhodes, more students than ever before are majoring in the natural sciences. Last year, 40 percent of admission applicants said they intended to do so. In fact, the demand for study in the sciences has almost tripled since construction of the main science complex in the late 1960s, and the number of students interested in health professions careers has climbed to almost 30 percent of our student body. But this is 2012, and we are offering 21st-century science curricula in buildings designed to facilitate the science curricula of 50 years ago. It's time for a transformation, and here's why: Faculty will tell you that lab work is more projectoriented, experimental and interdisciplinary, often calling for collaborative work. It entails three to four students sharing high-tech resources at a "pod" rather than pairs working together. Many such lab experiences require open configurations and clear sight lines for faculty/student presentations, with space for whiteboards and computer projection. As faculty members have increased their collaborative teaching and research activity, Rhodes has added new interdisciplinary programs in the natural sciences: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Neuroscience, and Environmental Science. It is not
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uncommon for a faculty member to work with two or three students as well as colleagues from other departments. Further, Rhodes' strong emphasis on combining classroom and hands-on, experiential learning through fellowships has seen a steady increase in the number of students participating in research. While some join a faculty team's ongoing research project, others choose to work with a communitybased partner, such as St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Our goal is for our science environment to enhance this kind of interaction, assisting research teams through shared equipment and facilities. To achieve that goal, we envision renovating the existing science buildings, linking them to create a space that encourages collaboration and community. The result will be a comprehensive science complex with Frazier Jelke as the "hub" and Rhodes Tower, Kennedy, Ohlendorf and Clough halls as the four "spokes," designed to facilitate crossdepartmental interactions and further the expansion of interdisciplinary teaching and research. Renovating our science facilities will put us in an unprecedented position of strength to do what we do best: provide our students access to world-class faculty and real-world experiences. This is how Rhodes changes lives, forges tomorrow's leaders and lifts spirits far beyond the campus gates. For further information, contact Jenna Goodloe Wade at 901-843-3850.
Quick Facts In the late 1960s, Rhodes, then named Southwestern at Memphis, conducted a $3.8 million Challenge Campaign for an expansion program. That $3.8 million translates to some $25.3 million in 2012 dollars. In 1967, the Frazier Jelke Foundation of New York City gave $500,000 ($3.3 million today) to the campaign, and the Ford Foundation matched it by half. Ferdinand Frazier Jelke (18801953), a Yale graduate, was an
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international investment banker and philanthropist. He was also the author of Letters from a Liaison Officer, a collection of letters he wrote to his mother during World War I, published in 1919, and An American at Large, an autobiography published in 1947. Memphian J. Hallam Boyd, president of Commercial Chemical Co. and a trustee of the Frazier Jelke Foundation, said of the gift in the Jan. 13, 1967, edition of the student newspaper, The Sou'wester:
"The primary factor in our choosing of Southwestern for the grant is the caliber of its student body, faculty and board of trustees. The Ford Foundation also looked upon Southwestern as one of the greater institutions in the country." The gift, he went on to say, "wasn't really to memorialize any man's name or publicize the foundation," but rather to "add impetus to Southwestern's Challenge Campaign and stimulate more people to support this school."
I Am an Inspiration
aggie Cupit '14 is an excellent student, campus leader and future doctor. Above all else, she's an inspiration. After her first year at Rhodes, Maggie was scheduled to begin a fellowship at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital when she was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma, a type of bone cancer. Rather than spending her first days as a member of one of the hospital's research teams, she ended up being one of the hospital's patients.
More than two years later, Maggie is cancer free, and the Chemistry major and future pediatric oncologist is back at work in the research labs of St. Jude, studying new ways to treat childhood cancer with umbilical cord blood transplants.
In addition to her St. Jude fellowship, Maggie, also works with ALSAC, the fundraising arm of St. Jude, to share her story in the media and at various events across the country. On campus, she has served as a Student Associate in the President's Office, participates in religious life, is active in her sorority, competes for the Mock Trial team and is a member of the Social Regulations Council. Your contributions to the Rhodes Annual Fund help ensure that exceptional students and citizens such as Maggie experience all that Rhodes has to offer. Please give to the Rhodes Annual Fund so that future students will have access to the same opportunities. Please give online at rhodes.edu/gift or call Kerry Connors at 800-264 LYNX.
To learn more about Maggie, please visit rhodes.edu/maggie
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2000 North Parkway Memphis, TN 38112-1690 www.rhodes.edu
Members of the class of 2016 enjoy their first dining experience in the new West Dining Hall of the renovated Catherine Burrow Refectory during Welcome Week.
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The alumni magazine of Rhodes College, Memphis, TN.


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Fashionista, Style Consultant and Author, Debbie Wright is back with more style tips for your closet, and your business! Check out her tips, then get ready to reinvent YOUR wardrobe!
Spring is here, the sun is shining and we need more of that brightness! This Spring's trends are all very wearable, and less out there with more practical shapes anyone can wear. Here's the inside scoop….
1. Florals
Floral prints are fun and fashionable, and are available in shoes, blouses, pants, jackets… pick one piece and add some floral prints to your wardrobe. It's pretty and trendy, and even if you're more timid with your style, add something small like a floral scarf to liven things up without going over the top.
2. Crop Tops
The 80s are back, and with them the crop tops! While you might think they're for younger ladies– and they can be, since they can be sexy– you can easily make them age appropriate with a high waisted maxi skirt. You're not really showing much of your belly– in reality, it's the smallest part of your waist, with just a little bit of peek-a-boo.
3. Fringe Handbags
For bags, a little 70s vibe with the fringe is back in style, and it's fun and easy. The fringe doesn't have to be neutral, so try out some fun colors– cobalt blue or yellow can wake up any outfit.
4. Flats
Here's another totally wearable trend– slip on flats are the big footwear trend right now. They're stylish and comfortable, so it's a win-win!
5. Colorful Sunglasses
Your number one accessory for Spring and Summer are sunglasses, but instead of going classic, why not have a little fun? Try a yellow, purple, red or blue frame to liven up your bright and sunny look!

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