1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

Month: October 2017

Transylvania Athletics inducts five standouts into Hall of Fame

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University on Saturday inducted five of the school’s former athletes into the Pioneer Hall of Fame. These standouts—Billy Bradford, Brian Macy, Lee Morrison, Ashley Sanders and Greg White—were honored during a banquet and ceremony at the Clive M. Beck Center. “All five embody the spirit of what it means to be a Transylvania Pioneer Hall-of-Famer,” said Holly Sheilley, vice president for enrollment and student life and director of athletics. “They all had a tremendous impact upon their Transylvania community during their time as undergraduates and continue to represent Transylvania in their lives as stellar ambassadors.” Bradford, who graduated in 2002, competed as a diver for the Transylvania swimming and diving team for four seasons, going on to qualify for the 1999 NAIA National Championships where he finished as the national runner-up in the 1-meter diving event. Bradford appeared in two NAIA National Championships (1999, 2001) and was undefeated in conference championship meets. He then served as the diving coach at Transylvania from 2003 until 2009. Macy ’00 excelled in two sports during his time at Transylvania. He was a foundational member of the revived baseball program, playing from 1997 through 2000. As a junior, Macy set the Transylvania single-season record for strikeouts in a season with 70. In his senior season, he commanded a 10-5 record and compiled a team-best 3.53 ERA. In four years at Transylvania, Macy collected 270 career strikeouts. He also competed for the Transylvania

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Transylvania to host renowned scholar Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—This year’s Moosnick Lectureship in Judaic Studies will feature renowned scholar Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi at Transylvania University on Nov. 1. She will address one of the most pressing issues of our times: “Jewish, Christian, Muslim Hope: Why We Need Each Other Now.” The talk will be at 7 p.m. in Carrick Theater. Rabbi Sabath serves the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion as President’s Scholar and as the national director of recruitment and admissions. She also has served as vice president of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, where she was a faculty member for more than a decade. She has co-authored two books, writes a monthly column in the Jerusalem Post and contributes to The Times of Israel, The Huffington Post and other publications. The following evening (Nov. 2) at 7 p.m., Rabbi Sabath will present “The Urgency of Leadership: The Unique Leadership Challenges Facing Millennials and Gen Zers (and What It Means for the Rest of Us)” at Temple Adath Israel in Lexington. Both lectures are free and open to the public. Rabbi Sabath’s visit is co-sponsored by Transylvania and the Lexington Theological Seminary.

Morlan Gallery exhibition explores maps as art

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Maps have always been about art, and starting Thursday, Oct. 26, they’ll be showcased in a Morlan Gallery exhibition at Transylvania University.  “MAP/PING” will feature 12 U.S. artists who explore social mapping, culturally expanded notions of maps—and what happens when one discipline uses the language of another to consider time, place and behavior. The show will run through Dec. 5. The artists will present work in a variety of media—from embroidery, to light, to prints of personality portraits taken from online dating data. “MAP/PING” features the work of Jessica Breen, Susanna Crum, R. Luke DuBois, Luke Gnadinger, Valerie S.Goodwin, Colleen Toutant Merrill, Jenny Odell, Joyce Ogden, Jackie Pancari, Fred Tschida, Clement Valla and James Wade. The opening reception for the artists will be Friday, Oct. 27, from 5-8 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The Morlan Gallery’s regular hours are noon to 5 p.m. weekdays.  For more information, contact Gallery Director Andrea Fisher at (859) 233-8142   Special Events and Hours Opening Reception with the Artists: Friday, Oct. 27, 5-8 p.m.Lexington Gallery Hop: Friday, Nov. 17, 5-8 p.m.Weekend Hours: Sunday, Nov. 12, 2-3 p.m. Evening Hours: Saturday, Nov. 18, 5-8 p.m. and Monday, Nov. 20, 5-8 p.m.

Transylvania to scare up biggest-ever PumpkinMania on Oct. 24

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

 LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University’s PumpkinMania will be re-“vamped” this year because of the event’s increasing popularity. This Lexington Halloween tradition will continue on Tuesday, Oct. 24, when the university lights hundreds of jack-o’-lanterns on the steps of historic Old Morrison off West Third Street. The community is invited to attend this event, which will feature: •6-7 p.m. trick-or-treating, music, food trucks•7 p.m. jack-o’-lantern lighting Free, nearby parking will be available for the event. “We’re really excited about the changes we are making for this year,” said Michele Gaither Sparks, vice president for marketing and communications. “This will be our biggest PumpkinMania ever. We are closing off Third Street in front of the university, creating a larger trick-or-treat area, and bringing in food vendors and live music. Much of this year’s expansion is made possible by community partners such as our lead inaugural sponsor, White, Greer & Maggard Orthodontics.” Transylvania also will host a public pumpkin carving all day Sunday, Oct. 22, in Back Circle off Fourth Street. The Lexington community can still enjoy PumpkinMania after Tuesday’s lighting. The jack-o’-lanterns will be glowing each night through Halloween. “What better place to celebrate Halloween than Transylvania University?” Sparks said.  

College, Democracy, and Social Media Empires

Posted on by President Seamus Carey

The following originally appeared in Inside Higher Ed. Last weekend, I had the privilege of returning to my alma mater for the inauguration of Elizabeth H. Bradley, the 11th president of Vassar College. Returning to Vassar as the president of Transylvania University felt different from my arrival as a student in 1984. I was raised in the Bronx by Irish Catholic immigrants. Our Catholicism was quiet, expressed mostly by giving neighbors a hand, weekly Mass and private guilt. We had little time to follow the political issues of the day, and the internet did not yet exist. During my years at Vassar, however, there was no hiding from political issues. Well-informed, passionate students conversed about apartheid outside classes and staged demonstrations near the dining hall. Students engaged intensely with one another and professors. Courses forced us to seek out quiet spaces in the library where we struggled to master content that was opening us to new perspectives on the world.