TROY News Center

The Troy University Alumni Association has launched its annual “Membership in May” campaign, an effort to keep more alumni engaged with University as a part of the Association, according to Alumni Affairs Director Faith Ward.

The Association currently serves alumni through 52 chapters in the United States and two international chapters located in China and Russia, Ward said.

“In 2012, Troy University celebrated 125 years of service to students in Alabama, the United States and around the world, and we look forward with anticipation to reaching even greater heights this year,” Ward said. “This is the perfect time for our alumni to celebrate our treasured past while looking forward to a bright future.”

The cost of an Alumni Association membership is: $25 per person annually or $500 for lifetime single membership and $750 lifetime couple membership. Payment plans are available for lifetime memberships. A free gift will be given to those alumni joining in the month of May. This year’s goal is to reach 12,000 dues-paying members.

Association membership entitles alumni to benefits such as admission to all alumni tailgating events, free subscription to the Troy University alumni magazine, opportunities to save on purchases through the Saving Connection and discounted automobile, home and renters’ insurance rates through Liberty Mutual.

“Alumni dues are a vital source of support for University programs and scholarships for deserving students,” Ward said. “I invite all alumni to become active members of the Alumni Association, and I hope our alumni will encourage their friends and family members to do the same.”

For additional information, contact the Troy University Office of Alumni Affairs at 334-670-3318 or visit the website at www.troy.edu/alumni. Dues can be paid online.

Jonathan M. Miller, a Troy University alumnus and current member of the University’s Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences faculty, has won the Faculty Senate Excellence Award.

Miller, who earned both his bachelor’s degree in environmental science (2006) and his master’s in environmental and biological sciences (2009) from TROY, was presented with the award on April 15 from Faculty Senate President Dr. Scott Nokes during the University’s annual Honors Convocation on the Troy Campus. The award was created to salute the outstanding contributions of non-tenure track faculty and was presented for the first time in 2008.

As an adjunct lecturer, Miller teaches Principles of Biology and Biology Lab, Organismal Biology lab and ecology lab. He was nominated by Dr. Paul M. Stewart, professor of biological and environmental sciences and ALFA Eminent Scholar in Environmental Management and Agriculture.

“Based on his willingness to work hard and his eagerness to teach and help the students at Troy University, I consider Mr. Miller to be a most-deserving and qualified recipient for this award,” Dr. Stewart said. “I routinely see him working directly with his students, helping them and explaining how to write the laboratory reports. In addition, Mr. Miller continues our research collaboration and together we continue a high level of scholastic productivity. I’ve known him for 12 years, and I can describe him as one of the finest young people that I have ever known.”

As a research assistant, Miller has promoted student involvement in biological research, performed surveys on mussels and crayfish life history studies, aided in taxonomy of local mussels, fish and crayfish, written and edited papers for peer reviewed journals and presented studies at local conferences. As a graduate student, Miller performed aquatic habitat assessments and analyzed data in various aquatic studies, as well as assisted in collections and identifications of research specimens.

Jonathan M. Miller

A pair of Troy University alumni will speak to early childhood/elementary music methods students on April 18.

Rob Lyda and Phil Wilson, both 2001 graduates of the John M. Long School of Music, will speak to a class in 201 Smith Hall beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Lyda earned a bachelor of music education from TROY and a master’s degree in music education from Auburn University in 2005 and currently serves as the sixth through eighth grade band and K-12 general music teacher at Notasula High School. In addition to his teaching responsibilities at Notasulga, Lyda is the junior high department chair, serves as the school accreditation and technology chair, and serves on the Macon County Schools academic calendar and technology committees.

Lyda has been the Teacher of the Year at Notasulga High School, the Rookie Teacher of the Year at Cottondale High School (Fla.) and was the 2011 Macon County Schools Teacher of the Year. In 2003, he was selected as an "Emerging Leader" of the Alabama Music Educators Association (AMEA) and the Southern Division of The National Association for Music Education (NAfME). He has served as the membership and public relation chair of AMEA. He holds memberships in AMEA, NAfME, American Orff-Schulwerk Association, Phi Kappa Phi, National Band Association, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

Wilson, the 2010 Alabama Teacher of the Year, currently serves as the music teacher at Ogletree Elementary School in Auburn where he has taught for the past 10 years. Prior to coming to Auburn, Wilson taught at Thomasville (Ga.) High School where his duties included directing the chorus, assisting the band director, and directing literary activities.

Wilson graduated from TROY in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in music education and went on to receive his Master’s of Music Education from Auburn University in 2007. In 2010, he became a National Board Certified Teacher in the area of Early and Middle Childhood Music. He is a member of the National Association for Music Education, the Alabama Music Education Association, the Alabama Education Association and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Professional Music Fraternity of America.

Three recent Troy University graduates received $1,000 grants from the Alabama Power Foundation to purchase teaching materials and classroom supplies.

The award recipients were: Patty Renea Carlson from the Phenix City Campus, Kirstan Somone Davis from the Dothan Campus and Carrie Rigdon from the Troy Campus.

Alabama Power Foundation grants are awarded annually to 12 first-year teachers in the Alabama school system and have been since 1995. Candidates are submitted by the state's public teacher colleges and winners are selected by a committee that includes education school deans. All winning candidates graduated from a state-approved teacher program at an Alabama public four-year college or university.

“These grants give teachers the power to inspire and educate their students by purchasing needed classroom supplies,” said Foundation President John Hudson. “We are proud to support some of Alabama's most promising teachers as they begin their careers.”

Carlson is currently teaching at Mount Olive Primary school in Fort Mitchell; Davis is a teacher at Holly Hill Elementary in Enterprise; and Rigdon teaches at the Pike County High School in Brundidge.

Troy University graduate Lt. Cmdr. Michael Nix has been appointed the executive officer for the U.S. Navy Training Support Center in Hampton Roads, Va.

As the executive officer of the center, Nix will be responsible for enforcing the policies of the commanding officer for the student management facility. The center annually serves more than 90,000 sailors and Marines for the Naval Education and Training Center Hampton Roads training commands.

Nix enlisted as a radioman seaman recruit in the U.S. Navy in September 1988. He graduated from Troy University with a Master of Science Degree and his son, Payton McGhee, is a recent graduate of Troy University.

His personal awards include the Joint Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (three awards), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (three awards), among other various campaign and unit awards.

Nix has been married to Elizabeth M. Nix (Hovey) for 21 years and together they have a son, Payton McGhee, and a daughter, Alyssa.