TROY UNIVERSITY

MONTGOMERY – The food may have been tasty, but the main course at a benefit roast was Troy University Chancellor Jack Hawkins, Jr.

The Jack Hawkins, Jr. Leadership Scholarship Roast hosted by the university’s Board of Trustees and emceed by Retirement Systems of Alabama director David Bronner, raised nearly $200,000 for an endowed scholarship established by the trustees in honor of the chancellor’s twentieth anniversary as head of the multi-national university.

. Bronner praised Hawkins’ for his leadership and vision at Troy.

“If you can’t inspire, you can’t motivate,” he said to Hawkins. “Jack Hawkins has shown this. The change in the environment at Troy University resonates with you.”

Slow-roasting Hawkins was Trustee President Pro-tem R. Douglas Hawkins; the Rev. Glenda Curry, former Troy State University Montgomery president and current rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Birmingham; Bruce Higdon, a fraternity brother of Dr. Hawkins’ and a Pensacola, Fla.-based corporate safety consultant; Mrs. Janice Hawkins, and Dr. Hawkin’s two daughters Katie Hawkins Beall and Kelly Hawkins; and Troy Trojan standout and All-Pro Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware.

“I didn’t understand what it meant to ‘think globally and act locally’ until I saw how many campuses Troy has and how much (Troy’s vision) can achieve,” said Ware, crediting Hawkins for instilling a sense of leadership in him.

“I’m proud of Troy University and I want to thank Dr. Hawkins for his vision and leadership,” he added.

The event’s goal – set by the trustees at $100,000 – was exceeded, and donations were still coming in late Wednesday, according to Trustee Lamar P. Higgins, who chaired the roast event committee.

Donations to the scholarship fund will continue to be accepted, Higgins said.

Thanking the trustees for the evening, Hawkins deflected the spotlight from himself saying “the most important ingredient (of the roast) is our students.”

“Troy University is posed for success. We are proud of the progress we have made, and we really believe that the sky is the limit for this great place we call Troy University,” he said.