Events

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University will open its arms to the neighborhood Saturday, April 26, with the dedication of its $10-million Athletics Complex. Public tours will begin at 12:30 p.m. at the 555 West Fourth Street facility and resume after the 1:30 dedication ceremony. Then, at 3, the women’s lacrosse team will take on Defiance College. The event coincides with Transylvania’s Alumni Weekend. “I consider the dedication to be like a neighborhood open house,” said Mike Vetter, special assistant to the university. The facility, which is home to the university’s field hockey, lacrosse, soccer and track and field teams, will benefit not only the college but also the surrounding community. The transformation of an old tobacco warehouse site is part of a wider revitalization effort in the area that includes the Newtown campus of Bluegrass Community and Technical College as well as new restaurants and entertainment venues along Jefferson Street. West Fourth Street recently received a facelift, going from one- to two-way traffic and getting sidewalks and bike lanes. The community will be able to use the facility for events such as clinics and tournaments. The Athletics Complex features an 860-seat grandstand, an eight-lane track, and an artificial turf field with lights for night games. The 18,000-square-foot field house has locker and conference rooms, coaches’ offices, public restrooms, a sports medicine facility, concessions and a ticket booth. The university’s teams began playing on the field this past October while construction continued on

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—As part of its growing international engagement, Transylvania University plans to mark the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide Friday, April 11. The school, which has four students from the central African country, will remember the atrocity with a candle lighting ceremony, poetry readings, coffee, tea, food and a musical performance by the Dreamin’ Rovers, who will debut a new song based on hope and renewal. Because many college-age students weren’t even born in 1994 when the genocide killed 800,000 to a million people, this will be an educational opportunity. The wider community is welcome to attend the event, which begins at 9 p.m. in Back Circle, the grassy courtyard off West Fourth Street. Lexington has a larger Rwandan community than many people would expect, said Serenity Wright, international student services coordinator. “It’s important to recognize what brought these residents here and let them know they’re respected members of our community,” she said. Rwandan students from Transylvania, the University of Kentucky and Bluegrass Community & Technical College will speak at the event about the future of Rwanda, how they see their role in continuing to develop the country, and what their hopes, dreams and goals are. The theme for the event, which is being celebrated around the world, is “Remember, Unite and Renew.” Everyone is encouraged to wear gray the week leading up to the event to mark the anniversary. Those who come out to the Transylvania event are

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—March has something for just about everyone who loves live music: a gospel choir concert, electronica and a concert band. All performances are by Transylvania University students in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center and are free and open to the public. Choir Concert March 17, 7:30 p.m. For the final performance in the Transylvania Choir Concert tour, members will perform sacred selections that emphasize global music, including songs of worship and adoration from the ancient to the contemporary.  A Lithuanian folk tune, a Nigerian Christmas song, Gregorian melodies and an E.E. Cummings’ poem set to music are all part of the diverse mix of spiritual music offered by the choral group. Transylvania’s a cappella group, TBA, will perform after the intermission. A subset of the choir, TBA will invite the audience to join them in Michael McGlynn’s “Alleluia: Incantations.” Electronic Music Recital March 19, 7:30 p.m. New to the music program is electronic music; students compose on computer software and perform through synthesizers and samplers. The majority of musical offerings are original compositions by the students and are accompanied by computer-generated graphics. At least one performance, by junior Zach Bain-Selbo, is live on stage with a synthesizer and a computer. The performance will be in Coleman Recital Hall. Concert Band March 28, 7:30 p.m. Under the direction of Ben Hawkins, professor of music and director of instrumental ensembles, the Concert Band will present “Short Ride in a Fast Machine.”

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Death of God theology? Not too extreme for John D. Caputo, who will bring his provocative philosophy to Transylvania University’s Carrick Theater at 7 p.m. March 20. His talk, “The Future of Justice: Nihilism and the History of Hope,” is part of the Rick O’Neil Lecture Series. “Caputo’s cutting-edge thought challenges the conceits of religious traditions and secularity to offer different, affirmative ways of imagining the future,” said Wilson Dickinson, associate dean for religious life. “His work stretches the boundaries of our typical ways of thinking to make room for justice, love, and perhaps even God.” Caputo, an internationally known professor emeritus at Syracuse and Villanova universities, has written more than 15 books that have been translated into a dozen languages. He lectures in far-flung locales—from Qatar to Norway. “Caputo writes about profoundly complex matters in accessible prose—in ways that are provocative and understandable,” Dickinson said. “While his ideas are new and challenging, he also draws from the deep wells of philosophical and theological traditions.” Caputo has been influential in the continental philosophy and emergent church movements. According to his Syracuse University profile, he is “intent on producing impure thoughts, thoughts which circulate between philosophy and theology, short-circuits which deny fixed and rigorous boundaries between philosophy and theology.” His book, “The Weakness of God: A Theology of the Event,” earned the 2007 American Academy of Religion Book Award for Constructive-Reflective Studies in Religion, and “What would Jesus Deconstruct?” won

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