1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University
Tim Meko, an award-winning graphic reporter who is deputy graphics director at the Washington Post, uses data, design and code to distill the most complicated information into decipherable and often stunning visuals.
It’s no secret that the Transylvania University Eventing Team has had immense success over the past three seasons.
Transylvania University has expanded its Rafskeller Grill area to accommodate campus dining needs during the construction of a new, $29.6 million Campus Center. The renovated dining space, which opened this week as students returned for the beginning of winter term, provides more seating than the previous facility in Forrer Hall. The 60-year-old residence hall will make way for the new Campus Center. When this new building opens in the fall of 2020, it will include Transy’s main dining facility—the Great Hall—which will seat up to 450 and remain open 24/7 as a place for students to gather. It also will feature a cafe and outdoor terrace seating. Until then, the campus community will use the expanded Rafskeller area. (The name is a nod to an eccentric professor, Constantine Samuel Rafinesque, and a play on a German word for a type of basement eatery: Ratskeller.) Seating in this space, located in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center, includes rooms with themes that students chose—including Lexington Culture, Fourth Street Stuff and the Rafeteria. To further accommodate the change in campus dining, Jazzman’s Cafe will add more grab-and-go options; two pop-up restaurants will be set up each week at various locations around campus; and, for dining outside on nice days, outdoor seating will remain in Alumni Plaza over winter.
When Judy Brumley graduated last May, her goal of securing a full-time position didn’t seem to take long at all. She was already working as a copywriting intern at Cornett marketing and freelancing for Smiley Pete Publishing and InStyle magazine. In no time, she became a marketing assistant for Smiley Pete. But, as her advice to first-year Pioneers reveals, reaching her destination required a four-year road map. Q: What are some of the essential experiences you had outside the classroom? A: I did three different internships while at Transy. I worked at Tops magazine and Smiley Pete Publishing in Lexington, and InStyle magazine in New York. Each of these offered invaluable hands-on experience in the workplace. Transy and its English department, specifically, worked to make it possible for me to get credit for two of my internships. Additionally, my adviser went above and beyond to make it possible for me to relocate to NYC for a semester and receive credit for my position at InStyle. Having the opportunity to work for these companies gave me real-world experience that has proved helpful as I’ve interviewed for jobs. I have several different experiences to refer to when discussing my qualifications. Q: How did Transy’s Center for Academic and Professional Enrichment help you? I visited the career development office several times as a student, beginning when I was a freshman. I worked with staff to strengthen my resume and discuss possible internship opportunities. I had a mentor through
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The upcoming “Data, Mine” exhibition at Transylvania University’s Morlan Gallery will offer artistic takes on an issue seemingly ripped from today’s headlines: What’s to do with all that information computers dig up on us? Running Jan. 16 to Feb. 19, the show will feature the works of nationally renowned data visualization artists Hasan Elahi and Laurie Frick. Elahi, who is a University of Maryland art professor, started an elaborate project in self-surveillance in the early 2000s when he was mistakenly put on a terrorist watch list. His work examines issues of surveillance, citizenship, migration, transport and challenges of borders and frontiers. Frick, an artist with a business background, anticipates the future of data and envisions a time when personal data is a unique glimpse into our hidden personality. She is currently mining data from the OkCupid dating site to create visual patterns helping people to better understand one another. The exhibition is part of Transylvania’s New Frontiers feature event series, which asks the public to go beyond the familiar and explore ideas, art and music. Elahi and Frick will visit Transylvania on Thursday, Jan. 24, for a free lecture titled “You’re Being Followed: A Discussion about Data Prediction, Privacy, and Digital Tracking.” Emily Goodman, a Transylvania assistant professor of art history, will moderate the conversation beginning at 6 p.m. in Carrick Theater. A reception for the artists will follow in Morlan Gallery. Coinciding with the “Data, Mine” exhibition, Transylvania’s Creative
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