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Photo by Jon Anderson
Jack Hawkins Hoover chamber 9-20-18
Troy University Chancellor Jack Hawkins Jr. laughs as he jokes around during a speech to the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce at the Hoover Country Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
Jack Hawkins Hoover chamber 9-20-18 (2)
Troy University Chancellor Jack Hawkins Jr. chats with Jeff Brown after speaking at the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Hoover Country Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce President Jerome Morgan Jr. welcomes a crowd to the chamber luncheon at the Hoover Country Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
April Stone Hoover chamber 9-20-18
April Stone, the executive director for the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce, talks to a crowd at the chamber's monthly luncheon at the Hoover Country Club in Hoover, Alabama, on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018.
Technology is changing the world, and Alabama is embracing that change, the chancellor of Troy University told the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce today.
The South is no longer plagued by terrible poverty and uneducated people like it was in the 1930s, Chancellor Jack Hawkins Jr. told the crowd during a luncheon at the Hoover Country Club. “Everything has changed.”
Instead of cotton, textiles and steel being king in Alabama, the state is now referred to as the Detroit of the South, with more than 1 million automobiles being made in Alabama this year, Hawkins said.
International companies have found a good workforce here, and “the international dimension of our economy has changed,” he said.
Last year, international companies brought more than 4,000 new manufacturing jobs to Alabama, having a $1.25 billion impact, Hawkins said. Business Facilities magazine said Alabama had the No. 1 business climate in the country.
“Alabama certainly has turned the corner,” Hawkins said. “We live in a global village.”
Troy University is working hard to expand its global reach, he said. When he came to Troy in 1989, the university had 40 international students. Today, it has students from 77 countries and well over 400 from China alone, he said. Troy is by far the most diverse university in the state and maybe in the South, he said.
Historically, one of the greatest challenges in Alabama has been ignorance of other cultures, Hawkins said. “Our philosophy is if you understand, then you may appreciate. It’s seldom that appreciation ever precedes understanding,” he said. “We brought these kids from all over the world, and they get to know each other, and then they begin to build lasting relationships.”
Troy has also increased its presence abroad. The university at one time had programs in 10 countries, including 26 military bases in Europe. More recently, it has been expanding in Asia and the Pacific Rim, he said. Today, Troy has programs on the ground in Korea, Japan, China, Malaysia and Vietnam, he said. In 2008, Troy became the first American university to award a bachelor’s degree in Vietnam, and today the university has more than 1,000 graduates doing great things in Vietnam, he said.
Troy is sending students to study abroad. Since March, the university has sent 22 delegations to 17 countries, he said. When students from small communities in Alabama go abroad, it broadens their experience base and enriches their lives and understanding of the world, he said.
The United States is a great country, but preserving that greatness will take leadership with integrity and vision, Hawkins said. He cited a quote by the late French philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville, who said “America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.”
Hawkins quoted more than a dozen people during today’s speech, including former Presidents Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson, Mercedes-Benz CEO Dieter Zetsche, Chick-fil-A founder Truett Cathy, Walt Disney Co. cofounder Roy Disney and baseball player Yogi Berra.
He also made sure to acknowledge the Troy football team’s unexpected win over Nebraska on Saturday — and the fact that Nebraska paid Troy $1.15 million to play in the game. It was the second year in a row the Trojans scored a big upset. Last year, they beat LSU at the Tigers’ homecoming game and walked away with a $985,000 check.
