Troy University will recognize four alumni as Alumni of the Year on Saturday as a part of the University’s Homecoming game at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
This year’s honorees are: Anshooman Aga, Darlene Hutchinson Biehl, Tommy Bryan and Lamar P. Higgins. The Trojans will welcome Sun Belt Conference foe Georgia Southern for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff. The Alumni of the Year awards, which will be presented during the halftime show, recognize outstanding professional accomplishments, civic involvement and loyalty and service to Troy University. Winners are selected by the Board of Directors of the TROY Alumni Association.
“We are delighted to honor these four alumni for their contributions in the workplace, the community and to the University,” said Faith Byrd, alumni affairs director. “They truly represent the Trojan spirit and are tremendous ambassadors for Troy University. Homecoming is a special time at TROY, and we hope that our alumni and friends will join us for all of the special activities planned for the weekend.”
Aga, who earned a bachelor’s degree in finance in 1997, is executive vice president and chief financial officer of the San Diego, Calif.-based Cubic Corporation, a technology-driven global provider of innovative, mission-critical solutions in the transportation and defense markets worldwide. He is responsible for all aspects of the company’s financial strategies and operations, including corporate development, risk management, investor relations and global manufacturing and procurement. The San Diego Business Journal honored him as the 2019 Public Company CFO of the Year. Prior to his current position, Aga served as senior vice president and CFO for AECOM’s Design and Consulting Services business in the Americas and spent 17 years in various leadership positions with the automation company Siemens. Aga came to TROY from New Delhi, India on a tennis scholarship. An accomplished student-athlete, Aga earned first-team All-Conference honors in 1995, 1996 and 1997, was named Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year in 1996 and won the Mid-Continent Scholar-Athlete Award in 1996-1997. Aga also was active in many campus organizations during his time at TROY. He holds a Master of Business Administration in Accounting and Finance from the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College. Aga makes his home in San Diego.
Biehl, a 1989 TROY graduate with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, is the director of the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). Appointed by President Donald Trump, she was sworn into office in August 2017 and oversees the administration of more than $9 billion in grants and other projects. With more than 20 years of experience in victim advocacy, Biehl has led an active role in passing legislation, advancing public policy, teaching at police academies and working directly with victims and their families, following all types of crime. A crime victim herself, Biehl played a key role in the development of Alabama’s innovative victim notification system and was part of the team responsible for the passage of the Alabama Victims’ Constitutional Amendment in 1994-95. She also worked in publishing, including 8 years as editor of law enforcement publications in Alabama, Washington, D.C. and Texas, and spent nearly 6 years as the communications and media director for the Dallas Bar Association. During her time at TROY, she was a member of the staff of the Tropolitan student newspaper, including serving as editor during her senior year. She also was a member of Chi Omega sorority. She has been active in the Montgomery Metro, Elmore County and Journalism alumni chapters, and is a lifetime member of the Alumni Association.
Bryan, who earned his bachelor’s degree in education in 1978 and his master’s in education in 1979 from TROY, was elected to the Alabama Supreme Court in 2012 and sworn into office as an Associate Justice in January 2013. The Crenshaw County native graduated from the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law in 1983 and following graduation, served as a staff attorney for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals. He became an assistant attorney general for the State of Alabama in 1987 before winning election to the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals in 2004. In 2012, during his tenure on the Court of Civil Appeals, Bryan was named “Judge of the Year” by the Family Law Section of the Alabama State Bar. In 2014, Bryan, a charter member of the TROY chapter of Sigma Chi fraternity, was selected by Sigma Chi International as a “Significant Sig,” which recognizes alumni who have achieved high levels of professional success. Bryan is a member of the Alabama Bar Association, where he served as a member of the Environmental Law and Appellate Practice Sections and he served as vice chairman of the Quality of Life Committee. He is also a member of the Montgomery County Bar Association and has been admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and the District of Columbia. He is a lifetime member of the TROY Alumni Association.
Higgins, a 1981 TROY graduate with a bachelor’s in social science, is a partner in the firm of Fine Geddie & Associates, LLC., one of the state’s most successful consulting and lobbying firms. Higgins was appointed to the Troy University Board of Trustees in 1996, becoming the first African-American to serve on the board, and earlier this year, was elected as the board’s vice president pro-tempore. Higgins was instrumental in establishing the Rosa Parks Museum on TROY’s Montgomery Campus, and a conference room in the museum bears his name. Mr. Higgins helped lead the effort to establish Rosa Parks Day in Alabama, and helped create legislation to erect statues of Mrs. Parks and Helen Keller on the State Capitol Grounds. During his time at TROY, Higgins became the first African-American to be elected as Student Government Association vice president and president twice, the second time without opposition. He also is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. An avid Trojan football fan, Higgins is a fixture on the sidelines, photographing the action on the field and gifting those photos to players’ families after each game. He is a lifetime member of the Troy University Alumni Association. Higgins is a member of Saint Paul AME Church in Montgomery, which was Mrs. Rosa Parks’ home church.