JANS – The Administration Building at Hinds Community College’s Rankin Campus will become the Irl Dean Rhodes Building during a dedication ceremony at 10 a.m., Oct. 28.
A Rankin County native, Rhodes is a Hinds alumnus. He was named Mr. Hinds in 1956 and worked in the college’s public relations office while he was still a student.
He first served as the executive manager of the Rankin County Chamber of Commerce and was then elected to serve in the Mississippi Legislature in 1960 at the age of 22. In 1964 he was elected Rankin County Chancery Clerk, a position he held for 24 years.
He was a driving force, along with others, in navigating the political landscape in Rankin County to help establish what was then the Rankin branch of Hinds Community College. He is one of the charter members of the Hinds Community College Foundation and continues to contribute annually.