TROY, Ala. – Troy University students will be recognized for their achievements during the University’s annual Honors Convocation at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 23 in the Claudia Crosby Theater.

Barbara Patterson, director of student involvement and leadership, said the convocation is a celebration of students’ achievements during the academic year.

“This convocation is the University’s opportunity to pay tribute to the fine work of our students and honor them for their diligent efforts in the classroom,” Patterson said.

Among the awards to be presented are the Ingalls Award, presented to the outstanding faculty member of the year, and the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, given to a senior male and female student and to a distinguished faculty or staff member.

The Ingalls Award is given annually to the teacher on the Troy Campus who has “most diligently, effectively and cheerfully conducted his or her classes during the current academic year.” Students nominate faculty members for the award, and a committee of students and faculty advisers selects the recipient.

The Sullivan Award, which is presented at select colleges and universities throughout the United States, recognizes recipients for their excellence of character, humanitarian service and spiritual qualities. The award has been presented annually to a male student, female student and one non-student at TROY since 1981. Students, faculty and staff nominate candidates for the award.

Birmingham attorney Thomas N. Carruthers Jr. will serve as the keynote speaker for the convocation.

Carruthers, a partner in the law firm of Bradley, Arant, Rose & White, was named the Birmingham Bar Association’s 2001 Outstanding Lawyer of the Year. A graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School, Carruthers specializes in mergers, acquisitions, estate planning and corporate taxation.

Carruthers serves on the Advisory Committee for the State School Superintendent and as chairman of the Alabama Academy of Honor. He also is a member of the boards of the Greater Birmingham Visioning Program, the Birmingham Museum of Art and the Children’s Hospital of Birmingham and is a member of the Birmingham Business Leadership Group and the Birmingham Rotary Club.

The Honors Convocation is free and open to the public.

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