TROY News Center

MOBILE – The role of higher education is to provide the foundation for young people to build a life and not just a career, Catholic Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi told Troy University officials here on Thursday during a luncheon at the Battle House Hotel.

The Most Rev. Rodi, who has served as Archbishop of Mobile since 2008, addressed a gathering of TROY officials before signing a long-term lease for a Catholic ministry center that will be included in a 376-bed faith-based residence hall on the Troy Campus. The residence hall, which is about 67 percent complete and expected to be operational in August, will house a 2,300 square-foot Newman Center.

“It is the essential role of a university to build the foundation on which students will prepare to not only make a living but also build a life,” the Most Rev. Rodi said. “A university is more than just a place where learning takes place in classrooms. It is a place that encourages dialogue of differing ideas. It is that type of dialogue that makes the heart feel and compels us to act.”

So many choices avail themselves to young people today and those choices extend to one’s values system, the Most Rev. Rodi said.

“More than any time in our history, we live in a world of choices,” he said. “Choice can enrich our lives and faith plays a specific role in the values of life. We welcome the opportunity that Troy University has extended to us and we look forward to this ongoing relationship.”

Newman Centers are found on secular university campuses throughout the world and on more than 270 campuses in the United States. The Center at Troy University represents collaboration with St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Troy and the Archdiocese of Mobile.

Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr., TROY Chancellor, welcomed the Archbishop as a member of the Trojan family, presenting him with a Trojan statue.

“This relationship speaks to the very heart of our University motto, which dates back to our founding in 1887, educating the mind to think, the heart to feel and the body to act,” Dr. Hawkins said. “We are grateful for the Archbishop and we look forward to this new relationship that will be of great benefit to our students.”

Troy University Chancellor, Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr., and the Most Rev. Thomas J. Rodi, Archbishop of Mobile, sign a long-term lease for a 2,300 square foot Catholic student ministries center inside a new faith-based residence hall on the Troy Campus. Standing are, from left, are Gerald O. Dial, president pro-tem of the Troy University Board of Trustees, Trustee and Foundation Board Chair Karen Carter and Father Den Irwin, of St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Troy. (TROY photo/Andy Ellis)
An artist's rendering of front entrance of the Residence at the Newman Center. (TROY photo)

TROY – Dothan businessman Harry B. Grier, III has been appointed to the Alabama Small Business Development Network Advisory Board as a representative of Troy University’s Small Business Development Center.

Owner of Arch Business Consulting, Inc., Grier, who has a background in the banking industry, has been affiliated with TROY’s SBDC serving as a guest speaker at various training and educational programs, and has been a “go-to expert” for SBDC counselors for commercial lending expertise, said Sandra Lucas, the center’s director.

“Harry Grier is the absolute perfect choice to serve as our representative on the Alabama SBDC Network Advisory Board,” Lucas said. “With his experience first in banking in Georgia and Alabama, as a controller for a Wiregrass-based service business and now as a small business owner himself, he is well-suited to help the Network in improving our assistance from a practical, hands-on point of view.”

Grier has also attended the NxLeveL Business Planning Series as a participant, before launching his own company.

Established in 1980 as a university-based development program for small business counseling and training in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Alabama SBDC Network is comprised of nine centers. In addition, TROY SBDC is part of a national organization of SBDC state networks and is an accredited member of the National Association of Small Business Development Centers.

The 17-member Alabama SBDC Network board is comprised of business owners, bankers, and representatives of federal and state economic developers and small business interests. Its purpose is to develop strategies to assist Network centers with creating and growing small businesses in the state, and to support small businesses in areas such as start-up, capital access, international trade and government procurement.

Mr. Harry Grier

TROY – Small businesses in South Alabama can learn about area funding resources during a Troy University-hosted Southeast Alabama Business Funding Resources and Assistance Summit.

The event, organized by the Small Business Development Center at Troy University and the Center for International Business and Economic Development, is scheduled for 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. Wednesday, March 27 at the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce, located at 102 Jamestown Blvd.

The event is free to attend and is designed to promote awareness of different business funding resources in the area. Each resource will have time to introduce and promote their funding products, along with their requirements and procedures used in lending decisions.

“In addition, the summit offers an excellent opportunity to network with resource representatives and other participants,” said Sandra Lucas, the SBDC’s director. “If you’re trying to start a business, expand a business , introduce a new product or service, need to improve cash flow or supplement your business’ working capital, this is an event you don’t want to miss.”

Co-sponsored by the Dothan Area Chamber of Commerce, funding resources attending the event include Celtic Bank, Community Enterprise Investments, Inc., Alabama and U.S. Small Business Administration, Southeast Regional Planning Commission, BB&T, Servis First Bank and the Southern Development Council.

While free to attend, Lucas said seating is limited and pre-registration is required by calling the Center at 334-674-2425, or via email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

TROY – Dr. John Miller, Associate Dean of the College of Health and Human Services at Troy University, has been awarded a national organization’s highest prize.

The Sport and Recreation Law Association’s Betty van der Smissen Leadership Award is presented annually to recognize a membe  for leadership and vision in the study of legal aspects of sport and physical activity.

“Receipt of this award is often considered to be the crowning achievement of one’s career in the area of sport and recreation law,” said Dr. Damon Andrew, Dean of the College of Health and Human Services. “It is certainly fitting that Dr. Miller is recognized as a leader in his field.”

Dr. Miller currently serves as editor of the SRLA’s official scholarly journal, the “Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport,” the premier peer-reviewed journal of its kind and is among the most recognized international scholars in the area of risk management in sport.

Dr. John Miller