President Troutt extends a warm welcome to campus visitors during a recent Open Rhodes ice cream social
When New Orleanians Sarah and George Young and their daughter, Charlotte, now a Rhodes senior, made a campus visit, they were in the dining hall when “an attractive man in a bow tie approached us and welcomed us warmly to Rhodes,” Sarah recalls. “It turned out that the man in the bow tie having lunch in the midst of hundreds of Rhodes students was the president of the college, Bill Troutt.”
GETTING INVOLVED Bill Troutt’s presence and words of welcome are not lost on any campus visitor. He remembers everyone he meets, which certainly eases the way for families interested in becoming involved in the Rhodes community. Rhodes Chapters—groups of alumni and parents around the country—are eager to welcome new parents into the fold. Chapter members recruit students, participate in fundraising and host career networking events along with yield parties for prospective students who have applied to Rhodes, as well as summer send-offs for new Lynx. J. Carey Thompson, vice president for enrollment and communications and dean of admission, says that parents of current students “are indispensable to our efforts. They know the college, they know
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families in their area, and know what kind of students we’re looking for. We’re very appreciative of their help.” The Parent Council is another group involved in the life of the college. Laine Royer ’07, assistant director of annual giving, oversees the council. “The Parent Council this year includes 72 households,” says Royer. In addition to fundraising and recruiting, council members establish internships for current students, take part in career networking and hire alumni when they can. Equally valuable services include providing feedback and voicing the concerns and opinions of parents to the college. Royer knows whereof she speaks. Her parents, Mike and Shelley Royer of Houston, are past members of the Parent Council. “While my brother, Brooks ’10, and I both went to Rhodes, my parents served on the Parent Council for seven years,” says Laine. “To this day, they attend many of the recruitment, yield and summer send-off events. My dad, along with other parents in Houston, helped put together a career networking event. Both of them have been Houston Chapter volunteers, and were named Volunteers of the Year at Homecoming 2010.”
WINTER 2013 • RHODES
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