March 2018

Transylvania art majors to present ‘Agnosiophobia: The Fear of Not Knowing’ from April 9-16

Posted on March 30, 2018July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Five Transylvania University studio art majors will present their thesis works in Morlan Gallery from April 9-16 in an exhibition titled “Agnosiophobia: The Fear of Not Knowing.” The public is invited to brief art talks in the gallery by each senior about their works from 4-5 p.m. Friday, April 13. A reception will follow. The graduating studio art majors are Jessica Chandler, from Louisville, Ky.; Claire Gardner, from Lexington; Annelisa Hermosilla, from Panama City, Panama; Samantha Klintworth, from Westerville, Ohio; and Poppy Liu, from Chengdu, China. Morlan Gallery—which is on the main level of Transylvania’s Mitchell Fine Arts Center—is open weekdays, noon to 5 p.m., and by special appointment. Free, nearby parking is available. For an appointment, call Morlan Gallery Director Andrea Fisher 24 hours prior to viewing at (859) 233-8142. In their own words Jessica Chandler “I create art for the meditative process just as much as for the emotions it incites. Much of my work is figurative due to my interest in the desire of physical connectivity between people, as well as the internal emotional processes that take place within. The demographic I tend to lean toward is that of my own generation, especially with the recent targeted biases and stereotypes that have arisen against millennials in the last few years.” Claire Gardner “My art has always been a way for me to work through my frustrations and entirely process difficult situations. I spend my time circulating

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The Heart of the Matter

Posted on March 17, 2018October 16, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

Jane Grand-Allen ’91 Jane Grande-Allen ’91, who graduated from Transylvania with majors in biology and mathematics, began studying heart valves when she started her Ph.D. research at the University of Washington in Seattle. At the time, the majority of the research being done was focused on improving replacement heart valves instead of the disease itself and possible treatments or cures. “That kind of stifled study into what causes valve disease because the (replacement valve) surgeons are excellent, and the replacements are awfully good,” Grande-Allen said. “So they weren’t really asking, ‘How can we prevent this disease in the first place?’” But Grande-Allen did ask that question. Even though replacement heart valves have become so effective, the surgery is still invasive—although work is being done to begin widely implanting them in a non surgical manner with a stent—and finding treatments for valve diseases remains an appealing goal. That’s why she has spent all this time on just that problem. “We’re trying to improve the range of options for treating people with heart valve disease,” she said. “Some of my work is targeted to helping find new medications so people could just take some pills instead of having to have surgery.” She credits her Transylvania professors for steering her in this direction, like former mathematics professor David Shannon. “He was my mentor when I was at Transylvania, and he really impressed upon me that I should continue doing something that had a

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Transylvania DPS chief receives TOP COPS Awards honor

Posted on March 14, 2018July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Gregg Muravchick, director of Transylvania University’s Department of Public Safety, has been selected to receive a TOP COPS Awards honor for his actions during a machete attack last April in a campus coffee shop. Lexington Police Commander Brian Maynard nominated Chief Muravchick for the prestigious award, presented by the National Association of Police Organizations, which he will receive during a ceremony on May 14 in Washington, D.C. “Clearly his actions that day stopped the attack,” said Maynard, who praised Muravchick for handling the incident without the use of deadly force when students were nearby. The chief responded quickly to the scene and subdued the attacker, who sent a student to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Transylvania President Seamus Carey and coffee shop employees also helped prevent further injuries by their quick thinking and assistance. Muravchick has 40 years of experience in law enforcement. He served in a variety of roles with the Kentucky State Police, including Police Academy instructor, narcotics detective, assistant public affairs officer, trooper and as a member of the Special Response Team. Muravchick, who retired as a KSP sergeant, also was executive director of the Office of Investigations for the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, a Frankfort Police officer and commander of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. Since coming to Transylvania in 2011, Muravchick has implemented an Adopt-a-Dorm program and other initiatives that help campus officers develop relationships with the students they protect. He believes the

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Kentucky author receives 2018 Judy Gaines Young Book Award

Posted on March 7, 2018July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Kentucky author Kathleen Driskell has won Transylvania University’s 2018 Judy Gaines Young Book Award for her collection of poems, ‘Next Door to the Dead.’ Driskell will give a reading and receive her award on March 21 at 5 p.m. in Transylvania’s Cowgill Center, Room 102. The event will be free and open to the public. Now in its fourth year, the Judy Gaines Young Book Award recognizes recent works by writers in the Appalachian region. Driskell found inspiration for her book while visiting a cemetery next to a former country church where she lives outside Louisville. Transylvania professor Jeremy Paden praised her work. “In ‘Next Door to the Dead’ Kathleen has written eloquent, gripping, tender and even humorous poems that explore loss and longing,” he said. “This is a wonderful collection of poems that have much wisdom and art to teach the reader. Death can pull us apart; it can bring us together.” According to the book’s publisher, University Press of Kentucky, Driskell often strolls through the cemetery, imagining the lives and loves of those buried there. “’Next Door to the Dead’ transcends time and place, linking the often disconnected worlds of the living and the deceased. Just as examining the tombstones forces the author to look more closely at her own life, Driskell’s poems and their muses compel us to examine our own mortality, as well as how we impact the finite lives of those around us.” Driskell is

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