TROY News Center

TROY -- Clifford Levy, deputy editor of the Metro Section of the New York Times and a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner for his investigative reporting, will speak to Troy University students at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the Trojan Center Theatre on the Troy Campus.

Levy’s presentation is a part of the TROY’s partnership with The New York Times, which supports the University’s Quality Enhancement Plan to create a culture of engaged readers.

Levy also oversees investigative projects and specializes in social media. He has also served the Times as their Moscow Bureau Chief and secured one of his Pulitzer Prizes for a series of articles about human rights and freedom of speech in Russia.

Levy joined The Times in 1990 as a news assistant, was promoted to reporter in 1992 and has served various positions with the paper since that time. Before joining The Times, Levy was a reporter for the New York bureau of United Press International.

In addition to his Pulitzers, Levy is a three-time winner of the George Polk Award, presented annually by Long Island University to honor special achievement in journalism. He also has been honored with the 2008 Sigma Delta Chi Award for Foreign Correspondence, the International Print Winner for the RFK Journalism Awards in 2009 and a 2009 Eppy Award from Editor & Publisher.

Born in New Rochelle, N.Y., on June 15, 1967, Mr. Levy graduated from Princeton University in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in public policy and international affairs.

Mr. Levy is married with three children and lives in Brooklyn.

DOTHAN—Troy University will host a pair of lectures at the Dothan Campus by a history professor who will provide insight into Islamic culture through his experiences as a traveler and resident in the Muslim world.

Presented by Auburn University professor Dr. Matt Malczycki, the two-part “Muslim Journeys” series aims to explain the historical and theological outlines of the Islamic faith in an informal and non-confrontational manner.

The first lecture, “An Arkansas Traveler’s Perspective on Islam,” will be held on Sunday, March 24, at 2 p.m. inside the Harrison Room in Malone Hall. The lecture attempts to explore Islam in a way that will foster greater understanding.

The second lecture, “Of Burkas and Honey Boo-Boo,” will be held on Sunday, April 7, at 2 p.m., also in the Harrison Room. This lecture will explore which society does a better job of protecting and respecting the rights of women and children: Islamic society or American society.

Both events are free and open to the public. The lectures are supported by a grant from the Alabama Humanities Foundation.

Dr. Malczycki, who received his doctorate from the University of Utah in 2006, is an expert in Islamic history who has also lived in Egypt.

The lectures are being held in conjunction with the National Endowment for the Humanities and America Library Association’s Muslim Journey’s Bookshelf grant, part of the Bridging Cultures program. The Muslim Journeys Bookshelf is a collection of 25 books, 4 DVDs, and other programming resources selected to help public audiences in the United States become more familiar with the people, places, history, faith, and cultures of Muslims around the world and within the U.S.

For more information contact Dothan Campus Library Director Chris Shaffer at (334) 983-6556, ext. 1320, or  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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MONTGOMERY--Author Jeanne Theoharis will read from and discuss her new book, "The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks," during an appearance at Troy University's Rosa Parks Museum on Thursday, Jan. 31, at 6 p.m.
 
Theoharis, a professor of political science at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, will speak inside the museum auditorium. Admission is free and open to the public.
 
"The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks" examines Parks’ six decades of activism, challenging perceptions of her as an accidental actor in the civil rights movement.
 
Presenting a corrective to the popular notion of Rosa Parks as the quiet seamstress who, with a single act, birthed the modern civil rights movement, Theoharis provides a revealing window into Parks' politics and years of activism. She shows readers how this civil rights movement radical sought--for more than a half a century--to expose and eradicate the American racial-caste system in jobs, schools, public services, and criminal justice.
 
Theoharis received an AB in Afro-American studies from Harvard College and a PhD in American culture from the University of Michigan. She is the author or co-author of four books and articles on the black freedom struggle.
 
For more information about this or other museum events, contact Museum Director Georgette Norman at (334) 241-8608, or  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

COLUMBUS, Ga.—The CEO of Carmike Cinemas, S. David Passman III, told Troy University graduates Friday night that people from all walks of life can achieve success through persistence and hard work.

Passman delivered the keynote address during a joint fall commencement ceremony for the Phenix City Campus and the Columbus/Ft. Benning Site on Friday, Jan. 18, at the Columbus Civic Center. About 100 students were presented undergraduate and graduate degrees during the event.

Passman, reflecting on his own struggles working his way through college, told graduates that no matter what obstacles they faced on the way to earning a degree, great things are possible.

"You could end up a senior officer in our armed forces, a famous actor, writer, painter, or an executive at a Fortune 500 company," Passman said. "Even if you had to work your way through school, even if you didn't go to an Ivy League school, even if you didn't get your degree at 22."

Passman said the commencement ceremony marked the start of a new journey. He urged graduates to pursue their goals with persistence. 

"Extraordinary things happen to ordinary people who dare to persist,” Passman said.

Passman has served as the head of Carmike Cinemas since June 2009. He is also currently the chairman for the National Association of Theatre Owners. Before coming to Carmike, Passman served as President and CEO of IBS-STL, Inc., a book publishing and distribution company, from June 2005 until January 2009.

S. David Passman III, president and CEO of Carmike Cinemas, delivers the keynote address to graduates during a joint commencement ceremony for the Phenix City Campus and the Columbus/Ft. Benning Site on Friday, Jan. 18, in Columbus, Ga.