Troy celebrates 140 years of education with party on the quad
Troy University kicked off its 140th academic-year celebration Tuesday, marking a milestone that gives students, faculty and alumni an opportunity to look back at how the university has grown, and the legacy current students will leave behind.
The kickoff brought members of the campus community together to begin a months-long celebration leading up to the university’s anniversary in February.
“It’s a special year for the university with it being the 140th academic year,” said Dr. Hilary Parkin, Troy Senior Woman Administrator and a member of the 140 planning committee. “It is fun and exciting to see the Troy University community come together to celebrate a huge milestone.”
Parkin joined together with several representatives across campus for the 140 planning committee, including Troy’s Senior Director of Communications Matt Clower. He said the university plans to hold an event each month leading up to the February anniversary.
For Clower, the milestone is both institutional and personal. He grew up in Troy, graduated from the university in 2004 and has watched the campus change in the years since.
“When it was founded, it was a very small little school that was just for training teachers,” Clower said. “Now, it’s a global institution with thousands of students and doctoral degrees and research happening.”
Clower said Troy did not have doctoral programs when he was a student, and programs such as engineering and the level of scientific research taking place at the university today were not part of his college experience.
He pointed to Roy H. Drinkard Hall and its plastics research as one example of opportunities that did not exist when he attended Troy.
“Some of that wasn’t even here 10 years ago or five years ago,” Clower said. “The university has changed a ton, and it makes me really proud as an alumnus.”
For Clower, that growth also affects the generations of students who have already graduated from Troy.
“I feel like all of it has made the Troy degree worth more,” Clower said. “I think that’s the real measure of success for a university — when your degree grows in value”
While the anniversary provides an opportunity for alumni like Clower to look at how Troy has changed, current students are becoming part of the history future generations will look back on.
Jordan McAllister, a freshman interdisciplinary studies major has a connection to that history through her father, who also attended Troy.
“It’s pretty cool to see how long this school’s been here,” McAllister said.
McAllister said seeing students gather for the celebration also gave the event a sense of community.
For Hudson Long, a sophomore accounting major from Birmingham, Alabama, the anniversary is an opportunity to recognize what previous generations built while considering what current students will leave behind.
“It’s just a good thing to express Trojan Pride in our university, but it’s also a good reminder of where we’ve come from and how we’ve grown along the way,” Long said.
Long said he wants to see Troy continue growing in a positive direction and hopes students who leave the university will have an impact on those who come after them.
That cycle of students arriving, contributing to the university and eventually becoming part of its history will continue as Troy moves beyond its 140th year.
Clower said he hopes the celebration gives the campus an opportunity not only to recognize the milestone but to take pride in what the university has become.
“I hope this really brings the campus together and is a source of pride and excitement,” Clower said. “I hope that people will come out for the other events leading up to it, and I hope we have a really nice celebration in February.”
Comments