Dr. Kevin Walsh, Director of In-School Education of the Greater Alabama Council of the Boy Scouts and founder of the Council’s Youth Leadership Development Program, will deliver the keynote address for the Troy University Honors Convocation at 7 p.m., April 18 in Claudia Crosby Theater on the Troy Campus.

TROY students will be honored for their achievements during the event, including awards presented by each of the University’s five colleges and recognition of new honor society initiates.

Among the other awards to be presented are the Ingalls Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching, presented to an outstanding faculty member, and the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Awards, 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 advisors 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 at TROY since 1981 with nominations for the awards coming from students, faculty and staff.

In 2008, the Greater Alabama Council of the Boy Scouts of America, seeking to have a presence in the community in addition to the traditional Scouting programs, asked Dr. Walsh to develop a Youth Leadership Development Program for high school juniors and seniors. The program was founded on three pillars – Faith, Character and Patriotism – and participants were selected based on their character rather than academic standing.

The program began with seven high school partners with Miles College serving as lead community partner. Today, the program has 93 high school partners and 22 college partners that provide more than $1.5 million in scholarships each year to the program’s top students. Since the program’s inception, the Greater Alabama Council has provided in excess of $4 million in scholarships for more than 500 students of character.

Dr. Walsh holds a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Mansfield University, a master’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Scranton and a Ph.D. in Elementary Education from the University of Pittsburg. He also completed post-Doctorate work in Education Administration from the University of Scranton in 1975.

Dr. Walsh began his career in education as a teacher in the Newark Valley School District in New York, followed by a stint as a teacher in the Scranton Public Schools. He would later serve as an instructor at the University of Pittsburg, assistant professor at Rutgers University and principal and assistant superintendent of Northern Potter School System, before serving as a professor at UAB for 24 years, retiring in 2001. At UAB, Walsh was a 14-time recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Award as voted on by the students. He served as Director of Education and Human Resources for Citation Bessemer from 2002 to 2006 and also served as Vice President of Miles College from 2013 to 2014.  Dr. Walsh is the author of four books on character development: “Taming the Young Savage” (1980); “Developmental Discipline” (1982); “Discipline for Character Development” (1988); and “The Civilized Child” (1993). He has served as an education consultant for the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, Redbook Magazine, Parent Magazine and McCall’s Magazine. He has spoken at more than 300 conferences, universities and school systems throughout the country, including the National School Board Conference and the National Catholic Educators Conference.