SMU law dean Jennifer Collins to be next president of Rhodes College

Jennifer Collins, currently the law school dean at Southern Methodist University in Texas, will become the next president of Rhodes College.

Collins is set to begin her role this summer, roughly one year after former president Marjorie Hass' departure. Carroll Stevens, a member of the college's board of trustees, will continue as interim president for the rest of the school year.

"I am so incredibly grateful for and humbled by the opportunity to become part of the Rhodes family," Collins said during the event announcing her selection Monday morning. "And I truly can't wait to get to work."

Collins, the 21st president of Rhodes, was selected after a unanimous vote by the board of trustees, according to a release. Rhodes began a search for the president in March, almost immediately after Hass announced her departure. After four years, the former president — the first woman in the role for Rhodes — left for a national leadership role in higher education.

MORE: President Marjorie Hass to depart Rhodes College for national leadership role in higher ed

Cary Fowler, chair of the board of trustees, co-chaired a search committee or a dozen or so school and community members with Greg Peters, vice chair of the college's board. Rhodes also used Storbeck Search firm to help recruit and select its next president. The firm has experience with higher education and recently selected new college presidents for Temple University, Colorado College and Michigan State University.

In a statement, Fowler described Collins' selection as "the happy result" of the "lengthy and thorough" national search, which included a national candidate pool of people both within and outside higher education.

“What made it clear to the search committee that President-elect Collins was the right choice for Rhodes was the combination of her exceptional leadership, her commitment to the promise of the liberal arts, and her passion for the possibilities inherent in Rhodes," Fowler said in a statement. "She will be a welcome presence on campus and an engaged citizen of Memphis.”

Collins is expected to continue refining the college's latest strategic plan, attract investments for existing and new initiatives and prioritize an inclusive campus environment, according to recruitment materials. Rhodes wants to become a leader in liberal arts pedagogy and enhance its own distinctive identity for new students. Lastly, Collins is expected to "embrace the unique relationship between Rhodes College and the City of Memphis and expand upon it as a national model for civic engagement among liberal arts colleges."

"I know you are firmly committed to continuing the critical work of making Rhodes as diverse, equitable, inclusive and welcoming a community as it can possibly be and I pledge to you that I share those core commitments and I commit to doing that work alongside you," Collins said to the students in the audience. "And I also heard that you really want a student center, so we'll be talking."

At first, Hass led Rhodes through her own personal challenge with a cancer diagnosis. She brought the college a new master's in urban education, which was recently discontinued, and The Lynne and Henry Turley Memphis Center. Hass led the college through alumna Amy Coney Barrett's controversial appointment to the Supreme Court and through the pandemic, where she championed a science-based response.

Stevens' interim presidency has been rocked by the shooting death of a student during a home invasion near campus. Earlier in the fall, Black students spoke out seeking more in response to a racist campus incident.

Collins comes to the role from SMU, where she has been dean since 2014, taking over as leader after controversial departure from the position by the previous long-time dean. As dean, Collins oversees more than 100 faculty members and supporting more than 800 students. While there, she's raised more than $50 million for scholarships, endowed faculty positions and new student programming, according to a release from Rhodes. With Collins as dean, applications to the law school rose each year, Rhodes said.

"Being the dean of a major law school is very much like being a college president," Fowler said during Monday's announcement. "Basically, the buck stops with you and you're responsible for everything."

Before SMU, Collins spent 10 years at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, beginning as law faculty in 2003 and becoming associate provost and vice provost in 2010 and 2013, respectively.

She has taught courses in criminal law, criminal procedure, family law, gender and the law, and career development and legal professionalism, per Rhodes. She has previous experience in private practice, and has also clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit and worked with legal teams for the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Collins said in an interview Monday morning that her law background has taught her to be a storyteller, and she expects that to help her as president of Rhodes College.

"The way I always like to phrase it is that there's no better preparation for being able to tell a compelling story than having to convince 12 of your fellow citizens who could not figure out how to get out of jury duty that they really need to care about this case and this individual whose future is literally in their hands and they need to take that responsibility very seriously," Collins said.

Collins, who recently turned 57, is a 1991 graduate of Harvard Law School and holds a master's degree, also from Harvard. She graduated in 1987 with a bachelor's degree from Yale University.

In addition to Rhodes College, the University of Memphis and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center have recently chosen new leadership, and Christian Brothers University recently announced an interim president.

"I think we're at a really unique inflection point, where so many of the higher education institutions in Memphis have new leadership coming in," Collins said in an interview Monday. "And I think it just presents us with a tremendous opportunity to get together and dream big and hopefully be a catalyst in every positive way that we possibly can."

Laura Testino covers education and children's issues for the Commercial Appeal. Reach her at laura.testino@commercialappeal.com or 901-512-3763. Find her on Twitter: @LDTestino

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: SMU law dean Jennifer Collins to be next president of Rhodes College