• About:
  • Rod is a native of Louisville, Mississippi.
• Affiliations:
  • Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated
    • Spring 2025 Initiate - Columbus (MS) Alumni Chapter
  • NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education
  • United States Air Force Veteran
  • Registered Songwriter with the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC) International

Certifications/Trainings: 

• Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach (June 2026)

• CliftonStrengths:
  • Belief
  • Connectedness
  • Achiever
  • Responsibility
  • Developer
• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
  • Introversion (I)
  • Sensing (S)
  • Feeling (F)
  • Judging (J)

• Education:
  • Ph.D. Candidate, Higher Education Leadership, Mississippi State University
  • M.P.P.A., Public Policy and Administration, Mississippi State University
  • Veterans Certificate, United States Air Force, Mississippi State University
  • B.A., Communication, Mississippi State University

• Selected Presentations:
  • Jones, K. S., & Holmes, R. (2026, December). Main character energy: Helping students see themselves as leaders [Conference presentation]. Leadership Educators Institute (LEI), Louisville, KY, United States.
  • Holmes, R. (2023, March). I refuse to apologize for being a transparent leader [Conference presentation]. SA Speaks, NASPA Annual Conference, Boston, MA, United States.
  • Holmes, R. (2023, July). I refuse to apologize for being a transparent leader [Virtual presentation]. Mississippi Association of Housing Officers (MAHO).
• Keynotes:
  • MSU Carroll County Extension 4-H Youth Leadership Program Banquet 

• Functional Areas:
  • Emerging Leaders
  • Instructor:
    • Montgomery Leadership Program
      • SLCE 3412

• Interests:
  • Ethical Leadership
  • Interfaith in Higher Education

• Committee Involvement:
  • Voter Friendly Task Force (2024)
• Panel Discussions:
  • Leadership, Panelist, Black Student Association (2026)
  • Color in a Bleach World, Panelist, Black Student Association (2025)
  • Emerging Kings and About Her, Panelist, National Pan-Hellenic Council (2025)
  • Que Week, Panelist, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated (2025)
• Select Presentations:
  • Mississippi Youth Summit - Jackson, MS (2026)
  • National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Regional Conference, Virtual (2025)
• University Service:
  • Instructor:
    • FYE 1003 - MSU Experience
  • Judge:
    • National Pan-Hellenic Council Step Show (2025)
  • Search Committee Member - Coordinator for Collegiate Recovery (2024)
  • Selection Committees:
    • Promise Program (present)
    • Luckyday (present)