A 17-year-old double amputee, para-athlete and adaptive advocate recently spoke to a packed-out Claudia Crosby Theatre for this year’s Helen Keller Lecture Series at Troy University.   The Helen Keller Lecture Series is an annual event established in 1995 by Chancellor Hawkins and Mrs. Hawkins to raise awareness for individuals with sensory impairments. This year’s speaker, Lulu Gribbin, was attacked by a shark in the summer of 2024, resulting in the amputation of her left ar

The Troy University Office of Career Services held its eighth “Workshop Wednesday” on April 1, which taught students how to make the most of LinkedIn.   The eighth installment of the workshops, titled “Unlocking LinkedIn,” included a presentation that taught students how to properly set up a professional LinkedIn profile and how to effectively use the platform for networking.   “It was really insightful,” said Vrund Shah, the Career Services graduate administration assistant

In a new move, Troy University announced two separate ceremonies for Spring Commencement, looking to improve graduation for all attendees For the first time, Troy University will hold Spring Commencement across two separate ceremonies, scheduled for Thursday, May 14, and Friday, May 15.  Graduates from the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences and the College of Science and Engineering will participate in the May 14 ceremony at 10 a.m. The following day, graduates from

Troy University Marketing and Communications held four workshop sessions on April 6 and 7 for Troy faculty and staff.  The workshop focused on how to efficiently use the new Troy brand identity by equipping faculty and staff with the necessary tools to communicate the Troy story.  Matt Clower, senior director of communications, explained the meaning behind the campaign “All Ways Real. Always Troy.”   “The goal was to try to figure out what the core of the Troy story is,” Clow

Troy University professor speaks on her 10-year-old community celebrity child's experience with autism. April is Autism Awareness Month and, though many students have no experience with it, two Troy University professors have a child with autism who’s become a pseudo-celebrity in Troy.  Drs. Dave and Jillian Camwell are professors of music at Troy university, but when they go home, they are the parents of three children. The youngest, 10-year-old Rosie, was diagnosed with aut

The Troy University Office of Career Services held its eighth “Workshop Wednesday” on April 1, which taught students how to make the most of LinkedIn.   The eighth installment of the workshops, titled “Unlocking LinkedIn,” included a presentation that taught students how to properly set up a professional LinkedIn profile and how to effectively use the platform for networking.   “It was really insightful,” said Vrund Shah, the Career Services graduate administration assistant

Grab your swimsuit and your sunscreen, it’s pool season at Troy! The Trojan Fitness and Wellness Center pool is now open for the warm season.  Georgia Bagdonas, a sophomore business major and fitness instructor at the fitness center from Huntsville, Alabama, shared her excitement.  “I am super excited because it’s always a great way for more students to get involved at the rec,” Bagdonas said. “When people hear about the pool, it gives them the opportunity to walk in, and wit

A Troy student on the debate team took home a win on the national level at the National Online Forensics Championship on March 27.   Carmen Cruz, a sophomore history major from Madison, Alabama, is the vice president of Troy’s debate club. Cruz recently competed in five rounds in the National Online Forensics Championship to finish this debate season with a win. The resolution for her final debate was “Artificial intelligence will do more harm in the long run than good.”   “I

Award-winning author Tom Franklin and poet Beth Ann Fennelly will be honored with the Hall-Waters Prize at Troy University on April 17 during a ceremony organized by students.  The ceremony will take place at 9:30 a.m. in the Trojan Center Ballrooms and is free and open to the public. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear directly from both writers about their careers and creative processes.  Tiana Burbank, a senior English major from Kinston, Alabama, said this year’s

Members of Troy University’s Tri Beta Mu Epsilon Chapter attended the 87th annual Association of Southeastern Biologists (ASB) Meeting. Troy University was awarded Chapter of the Year for the Second Southeast District of Tri Beta, as well as awarded for having the most delegates attend the convention.   Emily Hyman, a senior biomedical sciences major from Saraland, Alabama, is president of the Mu Epsilon chapter while serving as Tri Beta’s Southeast District 2 president.  “Tr

Troy University will begin two new Spanish certificate programs in the fall of 2026.   The Spanish Language Foundations Certificate is a 12-credit program designed for those with no prior Spanish knowledge to gain real-world communication skills. Additionally, the Advanced Spanish and Cultural Immersion Certificate is a 21-credit program for those with intermediate Spanish proficiency.   “The Spanish certificate program is designed for students across all majors who want to d

The sixth annual Health and Wellness Fair will be held on April 8 at the Trojan Fitness and Wellness Center from 2 to 4 p.m.   “The goal of the health fair is to promote the overall well-being of the student body by educating them on different information and resources around campus and the city,” said Mary Frances Gainey, program coordinator of campus recreation and co-planner of the fair.   “We are aiming to increase health awareness, promote healthy lifestyles, support men

Pike County residents got a behind-the-scenes look at local law enforcement during week one of the Troy Police Department’s (TPD) first-ever citizens’ police academy.  The program kicked off Thursday night with introductions to department leadership and an inside look at 911 dispatch. TPD Chief Danny Barron said the academy is designed to build stronger relationships between officers and the community through transparency and education.  “As we build these relationships with

Troy University will honor outstanding students and faculty during its annual Honors Convocation, celebrating excellence, achievement and service.  The ceremony will be held by academic affairs, led by Senior Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Dr. Kerry Palmer. The event recognizes students who have earned prestigious academic and service awards from their colleges, as well as those inducted into honor societies.  Dr. Priya Menon, a member of the 2026 Honors Convocation Comm

More expensive gas prices have students changing their lifestyle Although the global tension with Iran feels far away, Troy locals are starting to see the impact it is having on their wallets, particularly at the gas pumps.    In the last few weeks, gas prices in Troy have increased around 60 cents. Economically speaking, the rise is due in large part to the current war with Iran, where global oil production happens, which is affecting prices for communities around the world.

A Troy English professor is halfway through a six-month trip to Uganda where he is attempting to verify, record and publish the histories of the region that, up to this point, have only been passsed down orally.  Dr. Richard Scott Nokes, or “Professor Okot,” as he’s called by students in Uganda, is Troy University’s most recent recipient of the Fulbright Scholarship, a program that allows educators, researchers and scholars to travel internationally to advance their work in

Troy announced the hiring of its new head men’s basketball coach, Adam Howard, on Saturday. He was officially introduced at a press conference on Monday afternoon.  Howard returns to Troy following the departure of Scott Cross, who spent seven seasons as the head coach. Cross earned a combined four Sun Belt Tournament and Regular Season titles along with two consecutive bids to the NCAA Tournament.  Prior to the Scott Cross era, former head coach Phil Cunningham’s staff featu

Through a new partnership with EdVisorly and local community colleges, Troy University is taking huge strides to guide transfer students to graduation as fast as possible. Troy first began innovating their transfer system in the late 1980s and hasn’t looked back since, being the first institution to apply a computerized system into their transfer process.   EdVisorly is an artificial intelligence-powered platform designed to make the process of transferring from a community c

The Troy University Department of Teacher Education is gearing up for their annual Future Teacher Summit.  The summit will be held on Tuesday, March 31, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Hawkins Hall. The goal of the summit is to inform prospective students about the education program and what the profession of teaching has to offer.  “Since 2017, over 800 parents and potential students have come to Troy as part of the Future Teacher Summit every year,” said Department of Teacher Educ

Troy University is preparing to hold its second annual Trojan Research Week. The event will take place April 21-24 and feature submissions from every college.   The event was created to showcase the work of Troy students and give them time to research and present on topics that they find interesting. The school's hope is the event pushes students to strike out on their own and research topics they are curious about.   As for how it works, each college takes one day to gather

The Betty Russell Memorial Nursing Endowed Scholarship honors the legacy of a hardworking pioneer in the nursing field. The scholarship was created in Betty Russell’s honor for nursing majors on the Troy campus who are married or single parents.   When Russell was set to start her nursing school journey at St. Margaret’s, she was denied attendance because she was married.  However, she was determined to enter the field, and a few years later, completed her degree with straigh

A Troy University professor has surveyed land across the globe, from the glaciers of Antarctica to the highways of Alabama.   Dr. Bill Hazelton is a professor within Troy University’s Department of Geospatial Informatics and has been teaching a variety of surveying and geographic information sciences (GIS) classes for over seven years at Troy. Hazelton studied surveying at the University of Melbourne for his undergraduate degree.   “It was just something that was there and lo

Troy University’s geospatial informatics department held its annual Geo Day on March 12 in the Trojan Center.  Local high schoolers and community college students from across Alabama came to learn more about Troy’s land surveying program and what the industry itself has to offer.   “Students should come so that they can learn something new, because very few people know what surveying is, few people even know what geospatial information science (GIS) is,” said Denise Matthes,

Residents in Troy will soon get a behind-the-scenes look at how their local police department operates.  The Troy Police Department (TPD) is launching its first ever citizens’ police academy, a six-week program designed to give community members a better understanding of law enforcement operations. TPD Chief Danny Barron said the goal of the academy is to increase transparency and strengthen relationships with the public.  “We want to be as transparent as we can,” Barron said