Dr. Keith Elder, President of Saint Xavier University, and Troy University Chancellor Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr. will serve as the keynote speakers for the 2025 John Robert Lewis Leadership Conference on the campus of Troy University, Jan. 31-Feb. 1.
Presented by the University and the City of Troy, the conference seeks to bring individuals together to promote dialogue that fosters multicultural collaboration to strengthen relationships and empower diverse leaders with the tools to better serve their organizations and communities.
Launched through the University’s Leadership Institute in 2002 as the vision of the late Lamar P. Higgins, Troy University Trustee and alumnus, the leadership conference was renamed to honor the memory of Lewis, a Troy native, in 2020.
Registration for the conference is available online at www.troy.edu/leadershipconference. Adult registration is $30 if completed online or received by January 27, 2025. Student registration is $15 if completed or received by January 27, 2025. A $10 late fee will be added to registrations after January 27th.
Elder, who will speak during the conference’s opening session on Friday, Jan. 31, was appointed as Saint Xavier’s 22nd president in January and began his presidency on March 1.
With 20 years of service in higher education, Elder brought extensive leadership experience to the Saint Xavier’s, most recently serving as executive vice president at Mississippi College. Previously, he served as provost at Mississippi College and founding dean and professor in the School of Public Health at Samford University. Elder’s doctoral training was completed at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, where he was a recipient of the National Institutes of Health Minority Pre-Doctoral Fellowship. He also served as chair for the Department of Health Management and Policy in the College for Public Health and Social Justice at Saint Louis University (SLU) and as faculty for the Department of Health Services Policy and Management at the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health.
Elder has spent most of his higher education career at faith-based institutions and has worked with colleagues to improve student success and access to higher education, regardless of socio-economic status. Elder remains an active scholar committed to evidence-based research that will help inform health programs, health policy, and health care delivery, with a specialized interest in men’s health, chronic disease management, health information technology to promote health, aging and disability research, cancer prevention and outcomes, and reducing health disparities and inequities. He’s also served as principal investigator or investigator on funded projects by various health associations and institutes and is a member of the Editorial Board of the American Journal of Public Health.
Hawkins, a native of Mobile, was named Chancellor of Troy University on Sept. 1, 1989, and is the longest-serving chief executive officer of a public university in the United States.
Hawkins earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Montevallo and his doctorate from the University of Alabama.
Upon completion of his bachelor’s degree in 1967, Hawkins was commissioned a lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps and served as a platoon leader during the Vietnam War. For his combat duty, he received the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and a citation from the Korean Marine Corps.
Hawkins has overseen an era of change and growth at TROY, as he led the merger of the worldwide Troy State University System into the unified Troy University, an initiative called “One Great University.” More than $375 million has been invested in capital improvements by the Hawkins Administration, including new academic buildings on all four of TROY’s Alabama campuses. Chancellor Hawkins served as the catalyst for the University’s evolution to an international institution, as TROY has attracted record numbers of students from other nations and established teaching sites around the world. During his tenure, academic standards for admission have been increased, new degree programs were established in all academic colleges, and intercollegiate athletics joined the highest level of NCAA competition.
Hawkins’ professional background includes his service as an assistant dean at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (1971-1979) and as president of the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind in Talladega (1979-1989).
In 1985, he was honored by the University of Montevallo as Distinguished Alumnus of the Year and was the recipient of the 2003 All-American Football Foundation’s “Top College President” Award. In 2005 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of Murphy High School in Mobile, Alabama. In 2007 he was recognized as the “Alabama Citizen of the Year” by the Alabama Broadcasters Association. In 2011, Dr. Hawkins was recognized with the Chief Executive Leadership Award presented by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and as the March of Dimes River Region Citizen of the Year. In 2012 he received the Distinguished Public Service Award from the Secretary of the Air Force for his service on the Air University Board of Visitors from 2004-2012. In 2014 he was one of nine university presidents/chancellors worldwide—and the only one in North America—to receive the World Confucius Institute’s Individual Performance Excellence Award. In October 2016, Dr. Hawkins was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor.
Most recently, Dr. Hawkins was named the recipient of the 2024 Armed Forces Merit Award presented by the Football Writers Association of America and coordinated by the staff of the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl. He also was named as a recipient of the Centennial Scholar Award by the University of Alabama’s Graduate School.
In addition to the two keynote addresses, participants can take part in plenary sessions that begin at 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 1. Plenary session speakers include Dr. Sabrina Pennington, Kevin Dorsey, members of the Lewis family, Dr. Henry Terry, Tonya Terry and Dr. Chanukah Anderson.
For more information about the conference, contact Luke Jones at 334-268-4796 or Shelia Jackson at 334-670-2283.
