January 2013

Transylvania University will present Broadway musical "Pippin" May 16-19 in Haggin Auditorium

Posted on January 15, 2013July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University will present “Pippin” May 16-19 in Haggin Auditorium. Transylvania’s theater and music programs will join forces to produce the popular musical, which first opened on Broadway in 1972. “This is a funny, inventive, coming-of-age fairy tale—a story we hope everyone will love,” said theater professor Sully White, who will produce the show. She explained that “Pippin” was chosen for its virtues as a good ensemble piece, one that will allow many students to shine in their roles. “While certainly the titular character is a lead role, the ensemble roles have as much stage time and get the fun task of helping to create the world of the play,” she said. “We also wanted something that would challenge and excite both the actor and the singer, and we think we’ve found that in the solid book scenes that make up the story and in the energetic score.” The musical uses the premise of a mysterious acting troupe, led by a Leading Player, to tell the story of Pippin, a young prince on an ambitious quest for an extraordinary and meaningful life. The context of the show is purposefully anachronistic and unconventional, though the musical score reflects a contemporary 1970s pop style. During the musical, Pippin’s adventures include a mock battle to show him the life of a warrior, a series of meaningless sexual encounters that teach him how relationships without love are hollow, a fight against tyranny and

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Beyond Gun Control After Newtown

Posted on January 9, 2013July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

The following originally appeared in The Huffington Post. In the aftermath of the Newtown massacre, a heated debate has developed about gun control. The shock and suffering in the fallout from the tragedy have prompted urgent calls for a corrective to prevent such pain from rupturing another community. More restrictive gun laws are an obvious starting point. Such reform represents a tangible response to a pervasive sense of helplessness. Wayne LaPierre, president of the NRA, offered a simplistic rebuttal to the outcry for gun control laws stating that “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun;” hence, his proposal to put armed guards in all schools. Others who oppose gun control even suggest arming teachers so they can, presumably, engage armed assailants and win gun battles should they break out in their schools. Of course, we all would have wanted Dawn Hochsprung, principal of Sandy Hook, to win such an imaginary battle so that victory and power would be aligned with the good, defeat and weakness with the bad. Innocence preserved, evil put in its place. In such an imaginary scene, teachers would have mastered firearms in addition to math, literature and science. They would change their roles to become like first responders, whom we have come to revere as paragons of strength and courage. In this imaginary narrative, the problem with LaPierre’s remarks is evident in the expectation that teachers

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Kentucky Secretary of State to hold civic health roundtable at Transylvania Jan. 8 at 12:30 p.m.

Posted on January 6, 2013July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes will hold a Civic Health Initiative roundtable at Transylvania University’s William T. Young Campus Center on Tuesday, Jan. 8, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, with a meet and greet session from 12:15-12:30 p.m. In November, Grimes kicked off the Civic Health Initiative, a statewide series of roundtable discussions at Kentucky’s universities and colleges to improve Kentucky’s overall civic health. “Earlier this year, my office released Kentucky’s first ever Civic Health Index, which unfortunately shows that civic engagement in Kentucky is generally declining,” said Grimes in a press release from her office in 2012. “Kentucky is at its best when everyone is engaged,” Grimes continued. “The Civic Health Initiative is the first step toward establishing new partnerships and formulating fresh strategies that will bridge existing participation gaps.” The event is sponsored by Transylvania’s Office of Community Service and Civic Engagement and the Kentucky League of Women Voters in Lexington, Ky.

The Future of Higher Education: Rose Bowl or Ethics Bowl

Posted on January 3, 2013July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

The following originally appeared in The Huffington Post. In the coming weeks, there will be 35 college football bowl games played in the United States. Advertising prices for television ads during the national championship game are expected to surpass last year’s Super Bowl. Students, parents, alumni and even fans with little connection to schools will spend freely to purchase their favorite college team’s jersey, hat or pendant. Enthusiastic college students will display faces and chests painted with their school colors and wave their finger at television cameras to indicate that their team is number one. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal noted that the rising cost of college athletics has led to an alliance between Division I football schools and television: “TV has agreed to pump about $25.5 billion in rights fees into college conferences and their member schools over the next 15 years.” The hope is that the investment will save both the networks and the schools. Cal Berkeley reportedly invested $321 million in a football stadium renovation, and the University of Michigan spent $226 million to do the same.

Morlan Gallery opens new year with haunting exhibition Jan. 16-Feb. 15, accompanied by musical and spoken word performance Jan. 23

Posted on January 2, 2013July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University’s Morlan Gallery presents “The Thirteen,” a visual art exhibition and live musical/spoken word performance paying homage to 13 black women and girls who were lynched or otherwise violently murdered in Kentucky. The exhibition opens Wednesday, Jan. 16, at noon, and runs through February 15. The performance takes place on Wednesday, Jan. 23, from 7:30-9 p.m., in the Carrick Theater, in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center. It is free and open to the public. “The Thirteen” exhibition seeks to enshrine the shared history of the 13 women and girls and will feature photographs and video by Angel Clark as well as pieces by Transylvania graduate Bianca Spriggs, including original poetry, pen and ink drawings and resin skulls. “The Thirteen” production, made possible in part by the Kentucky Arts Council and the Kentucky Foundation for Women, will feature performances by an ensemble of 12 Kentucky musicians and vocalists paired with spoken word poetry by Spriggs. Spriggs is an Affrilachian Poet and Cave Canem Fellow. A multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in Lexington, Ky., Spriggs is currently a doctoral student at the University of Kentucky. She holds degrees from Transylvania University and the University of Wisconsin. Named one of the Top 30 Black Performance Poets in the U.S. by TheRoot.com, she is a 2013 recipient of an Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship in Poetry, a Pushcart Prize nominee and a recipient of three Artist Enrichment Grants from the Kentucky

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