Alumni

LEXINGTON, Ky.—During Transylvania’s recent Alumni Weekend celebration, alumni Debra Balles ’79, Raymond Cooper ’77, Doug and Gayle Hutcherson ’69 and Rick and Jannie Nallinger ’74 received the University’s Distinguished Service Award for outstanding service to Transylvania, and Peggy Gordon Elliott Miller ’59, Eugene Scruggs ’59, Richard Waddell ’64 and Malcom Warford ’64 received the Distinguished Achievement Award for excellence in their profession or community service. Debra Balles, Transylvania’s controller, has served on reunion committees and is a member of the Bluegrass Alumni Chapter Board, the Transylvania Women’s Club and the Tri Delta Centennial Committee. Appointed controller in 1984, Balles has served on many committees and co-chaired the Finance Committee of the Quality Enhancement Plan in 2000. She brings three decades of experience to the Financial Resources Committee of the 2009-2012 Strategic Plan.    Raymond Cooper is a former Alumni Executive Board president and volunteers with the admissions, alumni and development and career development offices. A real estate broker and developer, Cooper has been president of The Myers Y. Cooper Company in Ohio since 1987. His real estate developments include CVS stores in Cincinnati and Atlanta and shopping centers in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. He serves on board of The Springer School, a private school in Cincinnati devoted to educating children with learning disabilities, and as a member of the Ohioana Library Association in Columbus.  Other civic activities include assisting with initiation of the curbside recycling program for Cincinnati residents and

Read “Transylvania honors ten graduates for distinguished service, achievement during Alumni Weekend”

LEXINGTON, Ky.–Six current and former Transylvania University students have won prestigious Fulbright awards for 2009-2010. The three seniors and three alumni were selected to study and teach abroad through the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships program, one of two international exchange opportunities sponsored each year by the Fulbright Program and the U.S. Department of State. The Fulbright Program, the largest of its kind in the United States, was established in 1946 by the U.S. Congress to foster mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and the people of other countries. It is designed to give recent college graduates opportunities for personal and career development, as well as international experience. William F. Pollard, Transylvania vice president and dean of the college, said having six current and former students awarded the grants in a single year is “extraordinary for a small liberal arts college.” “The academic program at Transylvania encourages study abroad programs, with approximately 70 percent of our graduating seniors having studied abroad at least once during their four years. These six Fulbright Scholars will build upon their earlier study abroad experiences as they live and work in different countries representing  the United States and the Commonwealth with the knowledge, values and skills they developed at Transylvania,” Pollard said. Transylvania’s director of study abroad and special programs, Kathy Simon, agreed, saying the Fulbright success “confirms our commitment to international education.” The Transylvania seniors awarded Fulbright grants are Andrew Owen, of Owensboro,

Read “Six current and former Transylvania students have won prestigious Fulbright awards”

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Three Transylvania alums were recent recipients of Fulbright program awards and honors to further their educational and professional pursuits. Ashley Duncan ’05 was awarded a Fulbright Research Grant for 2008-09 for her project, “Exploring the Finnish Model of Farm Animal Welfare,” which is based on the hypothesis that the European Union gives more protection to farm animals than does the United States. Duncan, a graduate of the University of Louisville Brandeis Law School, is spending nine months in Finland researching the laws, regulations, and court opinions of the European Union and Finland to determine the standard of welfare mandated for farm animals there. By studying in a European Union country that has more extensive laws for farm animals, she hopes to learn about the legislative history, policy, and scientific evidence that influenced the laws. She is conducting field work and interviewing farmers who have been directly affected by recent changes in the laws, with the long term goal of using the information to improve the treatment of farm animals in the U.S. Duncan’s interest in animal welfare issues was sparked in high school. “From the moment I learned about the treatment of animals raised for food, I knew I had found my life’s calling,” she said. “I became very passionate about the issue and looked for a way to integrate my passion with a career that would allow me to improve the lives of animals.” Duncan experienced a deepening

Read “Transylvania alums receive Fulbright honors”