Troy University to offer new Ph. D programs

Also, Janice Hawkins contributes more info on Lagoon Project, an update on Frank Lloyd Wright home … plus driver safety tips and an anecdote from John Stossel on safety analytics.

Troy University’s Dr. Kerry Palmer, Troy Regional Medical Center CEO Rick Smith and Col. Jon Archer of the Ala. Dept. of Public Safety discussed the new degree programs. (Photo by Bill Rice, Jr.)

By BILL RICE, Jr.

Troy University will soon offer three advance-degree programs in the areas of criminology, healthcare leadership and data analytics, university officials announced at a press briefing today.

The three new degree options include a Ph.D. in Criminology, a Master of Business Administration—Data Analytics and a concentration in Global Healthcare Leadership in the Global Leadership Ph.D. program.

Troy currently offers three doctoral programs. With today’s announcement, the university will offer five Ph. D. certifications, as well as a new MBA program.

According to Col. Jon Archer, director of the Alabama Department of Public Safety, a great need exists for professionals with Ph. D.-level analyst training.

Law enforcement agencies are great at compiling data and statistics, but need more experts who can analyze this data in a way that might help prevent crimes and keep citizens safer, Col. Archer said.

The academic field of criminology “seeks to explain criminal behavior” and the causes of crime, he said. Programs such as those now offered at Troy will allow officials to better gauge the impact of crime on communities and focus on initiatives that might prevent crimes before they happen.

He added there are “many job opportunities” for those with the skillsets to perform this needed analysis and research.

Dr. Kerry Palmer, Troy’s Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, said all three degree programs were created to fill “critical work-force needs” in the country and in our section of the state.

The programs will be offered on-line to students anywhere in the world, although he said some students will probably spend time at seminars or other events here in Troy.

Two of the programs require approximately 60 hours of credits and the other requires 30 semester hours of instruction, he said.

These will be “elite” students and demanding programs, he added.

Troy Regional Medical Center should benefit …

Rick Smith, CEO of Troy Regional Medical Center, said he was excited Troy will now offer an advanced degree teaching leadership skills to healthcare administrators such as himself.

He noted the hospital’s marketing slogan emphasizes “healthcare close to home.” However, this program will provide advanced students with “a global view” of healthcare trends which is “very, very important.”’

Smith said he hopes some of the program’s graduates end up working in Troy or our section of the state.

Recruiting medical professionals and hospital administrators to a market like Troy is sometimes challenging, said Smith, but the culture of smaller hospitals is also appealing to many healthcare professionals.

Smith said this program should make it easier to recruit to this “niche” of professionals, which will produce positive results for the community.

According to Palmer, many people who enroll in these programs will already be working in their fields. These advance degrees should boost their incomes and allow graduates to move into the highest levels of leadership.

“These strategic additions to our academic portfolio reflect our commitment to preparing graduates for high-demand careers that serve Alabama communities,” said Palmer. 

“By equipping our students with specialized skills in healthcare management, data-driven decision making and criminal justice, we're investing in both their future success and the wellbeing of all Alabamians.”

The MBA in Data Analytics is a 30-hour curriculum that equips graduates with technical and strategic leadership skills needed in today’s data-driven economy, said Sorrell College of Business Dean Dr. Judson Edwards.

This STEM MBA program offers hands-on experience in interpreting and leveraging data.

The Ph.D. in Criminology is a 60-hour curriculum designed for students who wish to work in government agencies, nonprofits, community agencies or higher education. 

The program aims to teach candidates about the root causes of crime, how to critically evaluate theoretical perspectives and how to apply practical approaches to crime.

The Ph.D. in Global Leadership is a 63-hour curriculum with 45 hours dedicated to core, research and dissertation classes. After completing the core coursework, students will pursue specialized global healthcare leadership classes. 

Coursework for the healthcare specialization includes policy and politics in healthcare, principles of epidemiology, innovation in global leadership and a global leadership seminar.

“The need for leaders in global healthcare has never been more critical,” said Dr. Pamela Lemoine, program contact and Professor of leadership.

The Global Healthcare Leadership and Criminology Ph.D.s are offered through TROY Online while the Analytics MBA is offered in the flex format—online and on the Troy Campus. Students interested in pursuing these programs are encouraged to begin applying now.

Note: Additional text from the above story provided by Troy University Public Relations.

I pulled these random statistics from today’s event

By the Numbers …

5 - Number of PhD-level degree programs now offered by Troy University.

97 - Number of hospital beds Troy Regional Medical is certified to serve.

335 - Number of employees at Troy Regional Medical Center.

800 - Approximate number of road-side deaths that have occurred in Alabama this year through today’s date, according to Col. Archer.

Col Archer: Wear your seat belts!

Col. Archer used the press conference to again encourage all Alabamians to wear seat belts, saying he was surprised at the number of residents who still don’t wear seat belts, which are the best way to save lives in an accident, he said.

He also said speeding, “distracted driving,” driving too close to other vehicles (use the “3-second rule”) and improper lane changes are the other major contributors to road-side fatalities.

The number of highway and county road deaths is almost the same as it was a year ago, Archer added.

My example of data analysis …

Speaking of data analytics, I shared with Col. Archer an anecdote I remember from a John Stossel ABC News special years ago.

In a report about over-hyped or irrational fears, Stossel gave the example of the massive amounts of money that had been spent removing lead from a rural, remote industrial site. The justification for this years-long, multi-million dollar project was that soil contaminated by lead could one day lead to increase cancer diagnoses.

This, no doubt, is true, said Stossel. However, he interviewed an expert who said a random citizen would have to eat a bucket of lead-contaminated dirty every day for years or decades to perhaps develop cancer.

If the goal of government officials is to save as many lives as possible with the smallest investment, a better use of scarce tax-payer money would be to dramatically increase the number of roadways that have guardrails on the shoulders of roads or between medians.

Stossel said it was a known fact that such guardrails prevent many fatal accidents by preventing vehicles from running off steep road shoulders, flipping or hitting trees or other cars.

More money should be spent adding more miles of guardrails, Stossel argued.

Ever since I saw this broadcast, I’ve paid more attention to sections of highways or roads that are now bordered with guardrails or the strong cables we now see between grass medians on 4-lane highways.

Per my observation, somebody must have been watching this report, because I now see many more miles of guardrails.

This, I opined to Col. Archer, is a good and intelligent use of “data analytics.” 

While Col. Archer agreed with me, he did note the wire cords that now prevent cars from crossing a grass median and driving into on-going traffic also make it harder for State Troopers to cross the road and ticket speeders.

Mrs. Hawkins adds info on Lagoon Project

This afternoon I received a nice phone call from Troy University First Lady Janice Hawkins, thanking me for yesterday’s story on the Lagoon beautification project.

Mrs. Hawkins told me readers might be interested to know that the Lagoon Project was actually conceived in the 1920s by the country’s most-famous landscape architects, the Olmsted Brothers.

The Olmsted firm originated in the Fall of 1857, when Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux agreed to enter the design competition for Central Park in New York. When their “Greensward” plan was awarded first prize in April 1858, the two men undertook to supervise construction of the park.

As many local residents might know, the Olmsted Brothers - who became famous after their late father designed Manhattan’s Central Park - also drew up plans for the Troy University Campus which moved from its original downtown location to its current location in the late 1920s.

The Project that transformed the campus’s main quadrangle incorporated the brothers’ original plans. However, per Mrs. Hawkins, the Olmsted Brothers’ original plans sketched out what the entire campus should look like.

Famously, the original plans were misplaced or discarded for many decades before being discovered locked in an abandoned desk drawer at City Hall (which was also once a Carnegie Library and is the sole remaining building from the original downtown campus).

Those plans, belatedly, were used to re-design the Main Quad.

(As an aside, this project generated minor controversy at the time since it entailed removing all the pecan trees that bordered the main Quad and taking out the road that circled the Quad. However, just about every Trojan now agrees the Olmsted Brothers knew what they were doing.)

*** (As they say, “Thanks for sharing.”) ***

According to Mrs. Hawkins, Troy and Stanford University are the only colleges in America that have used parts of the brothers’ plans to develop their campuses.

The Olmsted Brothers revolutionized the way landscape architecture was used to promote civic cohesion, education, culture and recreation. 

Approximately 100 years ago, the Olmsteds envisioned the Lagoon area as a section of campus that could provide scenery that would only become prettier as time passes -  just like the Quad has and just like Central Park has.

Putting a Bug in Someone’s Ear: Maybe Troy University should start a landscape architecture program? Few careers and vocations can produce results that will be enjoyed by multiple generations to come.

Update on the Frank Lloyd Wright plans

As I mentioned in a Troy Life magazine piece a couple of years ago, a Troy University supporter gifted the architectural plans of a never-constructed Frank Lloyd Wright home to the University.

At the time, Mrs. Hawkins said she’d love it if enough money could be raised to build this house on the Troy campus. Such a house would certainly become a tourist attraction (not unlike the Terra Cotta Warriors). The home could be used for campus functions or as a guest house for VIPs, she opined.

Mrs. Hawkins envisioned the home being built in the gravel parking lot on McKinley Drive right above the reflecting pond at the Cultural Arts Park named for Mrs. Hawkins.

Since I had her on the phone, I asked Mrs. Hawkins for an update on this possible project.

Sadly, Mrs. Hawkins told me this project almost certainly won’t happen. 

She explained that she and others researched this possibility and discovered that a Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation exists and this foundation (probably) controls what Wright homes can be built.

According to this group’s bylaws, any unbuilt Wright home would have to be built on the site where Wright envisioned. (The home was originally supposed to be built at a site in Kentucky, Mrs. Hawkins said).

Building the home anyway would produce unwanted legal issues and would no doubt be cost-prohibitive, she said.

While Troy probably won’t have a house designed by the country’s most famous architect, we do have a campus that was designed by the country’s most famous landscape architects.

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