Events

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes will hold a Civic Health Initiative roundtable at Transylvania University’s William T. Young Campus Center on Tuesday, Jan. 8, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, with a meet and greet session from 12:15-12:30 p.m. In November, Grimes kicked off the Civic Health Initiative, a statewide series of roundtable discussions at Kentucky’s universities and colleges to improve Kentucky’s overall civic health. “Earlier this year, my office released Kentucky’s first ever Civic Health Index, which unfortunately shows that civic engagement in Kentucky is generally declining,” said Grimes in a press release from her office in 2012. “Kentucky is at its best when everyone is engaged,” Grimes continued. “The Civic Health Initiative is the first step toward establishing new partnerships and formulating fresh strategies that will bridge existing participation gaps.” The event is sponsored by Transylvania’s Office of Community Service and Civic Engagement and the Kentucky League of Women Voters in Lexington, Ky.

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University’s Morlan Gallery presents “The Thirteen,” a visual art exhibition and live musical/spoken word performance paying homage to 13 black women and girls who were lynched or otherwise violently murdered in Kentucky. The exhibition opens Wednesday, Jan. 16, at noon, and runs through February 15. The performance takes place on Wednesday, Jan. 23, from 7:30-9 p.m., in the Carrick Theater, in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center. It is free and open to the public. “The Thirteen” exhibition seeks to enshrine the shared history of the 13 women and girls and will feature photographs and video by Angel Clark as well as pieces by Transylvania graduate Bianca Spriggs, including original poetry, pen and ink drawings and resin skulls. “The Thirteen” production, made possible in part by the Kentucky Arts Council and the Kentucky Foundation for Women, will feature performances by an ensemble of 12 Kentucky musicians and vocalists paired with spoken word poetry by Spriggs. Spriggs is an Affrilachian Poet and Cave Canem Fellow. A multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in Lexington, Ky., Spriggs is currently a doctoral student at the University of Kentucky. She holds degrees from Transylvania University and the University of Wisconsin. Named one of the Top 30 Black Performance Poets in the U.S. by TheRoot.com, she is a 2013 recipient of an Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship in Poetry, a Pushcart Prize nominee and a recipient of three Artist Enrichment Grants from the Kentucky

Read “Morlan Gallery opens new year with haunting exhibition Jan. 16-Feb. 15, accompanied by musical and spoken word performance Jan. 23”

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Which comes first, love or trust? The lives of six characters in Transylvania University Theater’s production of “Trust” intersect romantically and platonically as the play attempts to answer this question. The no-holds-barred look into the world of fame, love, betrayal, and ultimately, trust, is set against the backdrop of the pop music scene and runs Nov. 29-30 and Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 2 at 2 p.m. in Transylvania’s Lucille C. Little Theater. Senior Laura Campbell, of Georgetown, Ky., makes her directorial debut with this Steven Dietz contemporary dramatic comedy. “It’s been a lot of work,” said Campbell, a theater major and music minor. “I’ve been living with this play for eight months, and it’s been an amazing experience to work with these talented actors and to tell this story. I wouldn’t want to finish my time at Transy any other way.” This modern drama blends love, lust, and lying into a whirlwind tour. “Trust” sketches out the bumps and grinds of modern relationships as Becca, engaged to pop idol Cody Brown, learns exactly what it means to be a rockstar’s girlfriend. At the same time, Cody discovers the dangerous lures of fame, while has-been Leah Barnett struggles to make a comeback and teach him a few things along the way. Stories collide, betrayals occur, and life moves on, as the word trust is called into question. Tickets are $10 and may be reserved by calling the

Read “Modern drama set in the pop music scene opens Thursday, Nov. 29, at Transylvania”

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Jeff Freyman, professor of political science and director of The Center for Liberal Education at Transylvania University, will present “The American Empire” in the Cowgill Center, room 102, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 29. The presentation, which is free and open to the public, is the first of the “Left of Center” speaker series sponsored by the Transylvania College Democrats. Freyman will discuss how the United States formed a world order after the Second World War, how it was similar to and different from previous imperial orders, how finance has been instrumental in securing global dominance and the consequences of the order on the 2008 financial crisis. His areas of research include globalization, comparative democratization, comparative political economy and Marxism. The speaker series was created to inform Transylvania students and members of the Lexington community on left leaning political views. “Not all points of view are represented fairly in our political system and oftentimes little can be accomplished if we all ‘toe the party line’ analytically,” said junior Michael Case, president of Transylvania College Democrats. “The series is open to speakers from a variety of ideological viewpoints ranging from the reform liberalism of the current Democratic Party platform to the far-left.”