Dear Rhodes Community,
For the last four years, President Hass has led Rhodes with great energy, optimism and resolve. During her tenure, she oversaw the creation of a visionary Strategic Plan for the college and set in motion a multi-year initiative to address issues of diversity, equity and inclusion. She modernized and improved both internal and external communications and brought to the college a refreshing sense of purpose and transparency. She recruited and established a stellar senior leadership team. And of course, President Hass has led and continues to guide the college successfully through the terribly complex and challenging Covid pandemic with all its implications for the health of our community, student learning, and college finances.
President Hass’s selection as the new president of the Council of Independent Colleges is recognition of her extraordinary leadership skills and talents and what she has accomplished in Memphis. It is also indirectly but clearly a testament to the achievements of our students, faculty and staff, and to the growing stature of Rhodes College nationally. We can all be proud of President Hass and Rhodes College and I know you will join me in wishing her well as she assumes an important national leadership role for higher education.
In anticipation of her departure, the Rhodes College Board of Trustees is constituting a Search Committee and has contracted with Storbeck Search, which worked with us in recruiting President Hass and others in senior leadership, to assist in identifying suitable candidates to become the college’s 21st president. That task begins now. I plan to update our community on the search process by mid-April.
Rhodes College entered this, its 173rd year, stronger and better than ever as one of the nation’s top national liberal arts colleges. It remains committed to its core values and its vision of graduating students with “a life-long passion for learning, a compassion for others, and the ability to translate academic study and personal concern into effective leadership and action in their communities and the world.”
The Rhodes College Community can be confident that our college will continue to be the beautiful, values-driven, life-changing institution that generations have come to love and cherish. We welcome your continued support.
Sincerely,
Cary Fowler '71
Chair, Rhodes College Board of Trustees