Month: March 2013

Psychology professor and neuroscience program director Meg Upchurch. LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University will offer a neuroscience major beginning this fall. Students will delve into how the brain makes us who we are. “Neuroscience explores the most complex structure in the known universe: the human brain,” said Meg Upchurch, psychology professor and neuroscience program director. The program will offer an emphasis in biology, psychology or computer science. Students also will be able to apply philosophy – and possibly music – classes to the major. They will receive a well-rounded education while studying the intricacies of the nervous system. The new major also dovetails with the university’s strategic plan, Transylvania 2020, which calls for expanded multidisciplinary initiatives. The program will be unlike neuroscience majors at other colleges because it will require that all neuroscience majors take a computer class. The study of brains and computers merge in the development of artificial intelligence and robotics. For instance, computer scientists look at living neural networks to learn how to create more effective machines. And studying how a robot interacts with its environment sheds light on how organisms with a nervous system operate. Neuroscience is a growing discipline – and a hot topic. The field tackles issues such as athletes’ head injuries in contact sports, and it addresses how to interpret brain scans of criminals who say they couldn’t help what they did because their frontal cortex isn’t functioning properly. Looking at the larger picture, because

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—For the second year in a row, Transylvania tallied significant energy savings during the university’s winter break by implementing a campus-wide shutdown plan. While students, faculty, and the majority of the university’s staff enjoyed a two-week holiday break (December 20, 2012 – January 2, 2013), physical plant staff and others took steps to ensure energy consumption during that time was minimal. Conscientious preparation by all members of the campus community resulted in energy savings of $61,125, which was $4,886 more than the university saved during last winter’s shut down. “By adopting and adhering to a well-orchestrated holiday shutdown plan, we were able to reduce energy consumption in all campus buildings,” said Marc Mathews, vice president for finance and business. “This not only helps us meet our conservation and sustainability goals, it also allows us to redirect those funds to academic and extracurricular programs that directly benefit our students.” Living sustainably is a primary value of the university, which integrates discussion of sustainable practices into academic coursework, visiting lectures, and planning for campus social activities. Students, faculty, and staff are encouraged to consider the impact of their everyday decisions and adopt sustainable practices whenever possible. In addition to establishing the winter break shut down, Transylvania University’s energy policy also sets temperature ranges and operating hours for university-owned buildings, affirms the university’s commitment to purchasing Energy Star equipment, pledges that all new buildings will be constructed to-at minimum-a LEED silver standard,

Read “Transylvania University’s commitment to sustainability saves energy and over $60 thousand during winter break”