April 7, 2005

Alabama Supreme Court Justice Patti Smith to speak at Troy University's annual Honors Convocation

TROY, Ala.–Troy University will recognize its top students and faculty at the annual Honors Convocation on Monday, April 18, with Alabama Supreme Court Justice Patti Mungenast Smith as the keynote speaker.

The event will begin at 7 p.m. in the Claudia Crosby Theater. The public is invited to attend.

The convocation is designed to honor students in the areas of education, business, arts and sciences, the fine arts and health and human services. Highlights include the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, which recognizes recipients for spiritual qualities in addition to academic and extracurricular activities; the Ingalls Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching, which is presented to an outstanding member of the faculty on the Troy Campus; and the Wallace D. Malone, Jr., Distinguished Faculty Award, chosen from among all TROY faculty members worldwide. The convocation will honor those students who have achieved outstanding academic success in the past year and those who have been initiated into various honor societies.        

Smith, an alumna of TROY , became one of the youngest judges in Alabama history when she was appointed to the bench at the age of 27. She had been elected and re-elected four times as District Judge in Shelby County before being winning election to the State Supreme Court.

During her time on the bench in Shelby County , Smith dedicated herself to addressing local and state juvenile justice issues. She helped establish the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Shelby County, the nationally recognized Developing Alabama Youth Program, Family Connection and the Early Warning Program, all organizations geared toward assisting children and families in need. In 2001, Smith was named National CASA Judge of the Year. She also organized Shelby County ’s Children Policy Council.

In addition to her work at the local level, Smith also has served on the Governor’s Commission on Crime, the Commission on the Future of the Juvenile Justice System and the Alabama Judicial System Study Commission on Sentencing. She chaired the Task Force on Dependency and also the Interagency Conference on Youth.

Smith and her husband Jerry make their home in Shelby County with their two children, Jarrett and Shelley.