TROY News Center

ATLANTA – Troy University will open its doors to Atlanta-area students and prospective students for a free seminar on the importance of accreditation in higher education.

Led by Dr. Hal Fulmer, the University’s dean of undergraduate and first-year studies and associate provost, the seminar begins at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 2 in Sandy Springs at 1117 Perimeter Center West, Suite N101. Seating is limited and registration is recommended online at http://trojan.troy.edu/globalcampus/sites/atlanta/. The event will be streamed online for those who are interested but are unable to attend. Registration for the online event is also available at the same address.

“Given the current economic climate and job market, many are turning to higher education as a way to improve their own marketability,” said Bill Glisson, district director for TROY’s Atlanta District. “With the recent influx of collegiate options in Atlanta, many are unaware of the various accrediting bodies, what they mean, and how it affects the education they may receive at a given school. More importantly, many are unaware of the outcomes they may face if they pursue an education at a school that does not hold accreditation by a recognized accrediting body.”

Dr. Fulmer has extensive experience in the area of accreditation, having served as a member of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) leadership team for the University’s successful reaffirmation of accreditation in 2007 – 2010, and a member of the University’s SACS steering committee 2002-2003.

“Understanding accreditation in higher education is an important part of earning a college degree.  What accreditation means, how it happens and why it is so significant are questions that any prospective college student—and college graduate—needs to understand.  Accreditation is all about the integrity and value of a student’s higher education,” Dr. Fulmer said.

TROY – Troy University’s efforts at sustainability reach even downed limbs on the Troy Campus.

The University is highlighting Earth Week 2013 with a series of events designed to promote environmental awareness and recycling, in cooperation with KW Plastics and City of Troy.

Many efforts – from lighting considerations, to construction to grounds management – include specific steps aimed at reducing the campus’ carbon footprint, said Mark Salmon, director of the University’s Physical Plant.

“We are working to look at ways we can be more sustainable in every process we have,” he said.

One of those processes deals with limb debris removal on the campus, and has become a boon to fireplace owners in the city.

“We’re cutting and stacking firewood. It’s incredible to see the reduction in our waste stream caused simply by cutting debris into firewood length, stacking it and putting up a small sign that says ‘Free Firewood’,” he said.

For the past several years, the University has chipped limbs under six inches, stockpiling the results for use as mulch in flowerbeds on the campus. What was too big for the chipper was hauled away.

“Not only is the University saving transportation costs and landfill costs, its reducing the waste stream going into landfills,” Salmon said. “Everybody loves firewood, and we’re finding better uses for the debris than what we were before.”

Other shifts in debris management include using some of it in erosion control measures around the campus.

“We’re reclaiming this for use on campus and its finding its way back into the ecosystem rather than being dumped in a landfill,” he said. “It’s a move that makes sense financially and ecologically.”

DOTHAN—Troy University’s annual learning enrichment camp for local children, Summer Spectacular, will start June 4 at Kelly Springs Elementary School with the theme “Kids as NASA Scientists.”

Open to children ages 4 to 12, the camp will be held from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday from June 4 to June 25. The cost is $30 per week, per child and registration will be held on May 3 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. inside Adams Hall room 112 at the TROY Dothan Campus.

Troy University students majoring in education lead the annual four-week summer learning enrichment program. Summer Spectacular provides a fun learning environment for children while giving TROY students hands-on experience in a classroom setting.

Under this year’s “NASA” theme, children will engage in a variety of activities exploring science, technology, engineering and math.

For more information, or to request a registration form, contact Dr. Cynthia Hicks at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

TROY – An internationally acclaimed Chinese martial arts troupe from Beijing will bring their kung fu show to Montgomery and Troy this week, hosted by the Confucius Institute at Troy University.

The group will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 25 in Sartain Hall on the Troy Campus, and at 7 p.m. Friday, April 26 in Davis Theatre on the Montgomery Campus. Both shows are free of charge, but tickets are required for the Davis Theatre performance. They may be acquired at the theater.

Tickets are also available at the Confucius Institute office at 307 Whitley Hall; King Buffet at 2727 Bell Rd., Seoul Market at 1841 Eastern Blvd., and at Hibachi Sushi Buffet at 181 Eastern Blvd.

No admission tickets are required for the Sartain Hall performance.

The Confucius Institute at Troy University is the only such institute in Alabama with a state-wide mission to promote language, cultural and economic development exchange.

No barriers are too large to overcome with faith, belief and determination. That was the message delivered by representatives of the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind to those gathered on Tuesday for the 18^th annual Helen Keller Lecture at Troy University.

The lecture series, held each spring, is designed to promote awareness of people who excel in their chosen fields despite physical and/or mental limitations.

“Helen Keller believed that anything was possible through hard work,” said Dr. John Mascia, AIDB President. “Ms. Keller had a vision for the future and what could be for the deaf and blind. She knew from experience what could be and she wanted that for everyone. Her philosophy inspires me every day.”

Dr. Mascia credited the “heroes” in his life, including his mother-in-law who spent most of her life wheelchair-bound due to Muscular Dystrophy, for helping to mold his outlook.

“I have been fortunate to be a witness to those heroes who have demonstrated to me that nothing is impossible if we choose to think big, rely on each other and believe in what can be,” he said. “All of my heroes believe in themselves and in other people and all have a very strong faith.”

Dr. Mascia said his mother-in-law who spent 30 years in the classroom as an educator, long before the existence of the Americans with Disabilities Act, was an agent for change.

“She transformed her students and the way they viewed people with disabilities,” he said. “People with disabilities are not less than people without disabilities; they are just different.”

Joining Dr. Mascia on stage for Tuesday’s lecture were Patrick Robertson, director of AIDB’s Talladega Regional Center, and Donovan Beitel, a TROY alumnus and an instructor in the Institute’s Business Enterprise Program.

“I experienced many barriers in my youth because I was deaf,” said Robertson, an AIDB alumnus who went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Gallaudet University and a master’s degree from Western Maryland College. “Many people would make fun of me because I was deaf. I was never part of any organizations or activities at school. Because I was deaf, I went to the sixth grade unable to read or write.”

At the age of 12, Robertson’s parents enrolled him in the Alabama School for the Deaf and his life began to change.

“What an exciting time that was in my life,” he said. “I became involved and served as president of many organizations. I became Patrick, my given name, and not Pat the deaf boy. The Institute gave me the courage to go to college. I grew as a person. I became a person with no limits, no handicaps. I became, Patrick, a big mass of possibilities.”

Beitel, who as a child was diagnosed with Stargardt disease, a form of juvenile macular degeneration, lost his central vision by the age of 10.

“I was the typical kid, doing the usual kid things, but over time I began to realize I was different,” Beitel said. “When I recognized that I was different, doubt began to creep in.”

Beitel said he is often asked about barriers he has faced in life.

“I face two barriers in life – me and you,” he said. “One I can do something about and one I can do nothing about. One is internal and one is external. AIDB removed the barrier of ‘me’ from me.”

While no one person can change the world, all have a role to play, Beitel said.

“I can’t change the world, but I can do my part,” he said. “How can you change the world? Repeat ‘I won’t doubt’ and ‘I will believe.’”

Entertainment for the lecture was presented by Malia Thibado, a second grade student at AIDB and the daughter of Paul and Karen Thibado of Pell City. She received a standing ovation after singing “Who I was Born to Be.”

The Helen Keller Lecture is sponsored by Troy University, The Helen Keller Foundation for Research and Education, the Alabama State Department of Education, the Alabama State Department of Rehabilitation Services and the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind.

Dr. John Mascia, president of the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, speaks during the 18th annual Helen Keller Lecture at Troy University on Tuesday.