Troy University will recognize excellence, achievement and service across the university community during its annual Honors Convocation at 2:30 pm. on April 15 in the Claudia Crosby Theater on the Troy Campus.

The ceremony will recognize students who have earned prestigious awards for outstanding scholarship and service from their departments in the University’s five colleges and will acknowledge students inducted into prestigious honor societies over the last academic year. This year, 31 scholastic award winners will be honored, and 390 students will receive Honor Society recognitions.

Among awards to be presented during the convocation 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 addition, the University’s Faculty Senate will present the Dr. Robert Kruckeberg Faculty Excellence Award, which is presented annually to an outstanding lecturer or adjunct faculty member who demonstrates excellence in the areas of teaching, research and service. The award is named in memory of Dr. Kruckeberg, an Associate Professor of History, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 43 after a courageous battle with cancer.

Dr. Shirley J. Farrell, the 2025 recipient of the University’s prestigious Wallace D. Malone, Jr. Distinguished Faculty Award, will deliver the keynote address.

Farrell, who joined the TROY faculty in 2017, earned a bachelor’s degree in horticulture and a master’s degree in elementary education with Gifted Certification before earning her Ph.D. in Instructional Technology/Instructional Leadership from the University of Alabama.

She is an Associate Professor and serves as Program Coordinator for Gifted Education in the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences.

Farrell is a past president and longtime member of the Executive Council of the Alabama Association for Gifted Children and has served on the Board of Directors for the Environmental Education Association of Alabama (EEAA). In 2022, the EEAA awarded her the Soaring High Award in recognition of service to the organization that has gone above and beyond what is required, and this year, she received the EEAA’s Jeffrey Scott Hughes Lifetime Achievement Award in Environmental Education.

“Honors Convocation brings our university community together to recognize the exceptional accomplishments of our students and faculty, reflecting both individual achievement and the strength of Troy University’s academic environment,” said Dr. Priya Menon, Professor and Director of Global Scholars and University Honors. “I am grateful to serve as chair of the Honors Convocation Committee and appreciate the collective effort of our team that makes this celebration possible. It remains a meaningful opportunity to recognize the talent, perseverance and leadership of our students while reinforcing our shared commitment to academic excellence.”

The Honors Convocation was revamped in 2025, leading to praise from TROY Chancellor Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr.

“Honors Convocation 2025 was the best in the 35 years we have served Troy University,” Dr. Hawkins said. “It was a pleasurable experience for all who attended. We are grateful to Dr. Menon and the members of the committee for a job well done. We are better today because of the work of each committee member.”

Members of the 2026 Honors Convocation Committee are: Dr. Ventsislav Stamenov, Dr. Morgan Sewell, Dr. Hui-Ting Yang, Dr. Scott Sexton, Dr. Lauren Berlingo, and Dr. Byungkwan Jung, Dr. Adam Rutkowski, and Dr. Priya Menon.

The convocation will be followed by a reception for the attendees.