1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

Transylvania’s Concert Band and Chamber Orchestra to present free concerts April 3 and 4

Transylvania’s music department is offering two concerts, April 3 and 4, in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center. Both performances are free and open to the public. The Concert Band will present Seitz’s “The World is Waiting for the Sunrise,”  Arnold’s “Peterloo” and Piazzolla’s “Oblivion,” featuring Joe Carucci on the alto saxophone, on Tuesday, April 3, at 7:30 p.m. in Haggin Auditorium. The Chamber Orchestra will offer Mozart’s “Horn Concerto No. 3, first movement,” featuring Alex Yaden (photo at left), “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” and Bizet’s “Suite from L’Arlessienne,” the following evening, Wednesday, April 4, at 7:30 p.m. in Carrick Theater.

Award-winning poet Bianca Spriggs to deliver Transylvania University commencement address on Saturday, May 26, at 9:30 a.m.

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Affrilachian poet, multidisciplinary artist and Cave Canem Fellow Bianca Spriggs will deliver the commencement address at Transylvania University on Saturday, May 26, at 9:30 a.m. on the steps of historic Old Morrison. Spriggs, a 2003 graduate of Transylvania, was named as one of the Top 30 Performance Poets by TheRoot.com, is a Pushcart Prize nominee and a recipient of multiple Artist Enrichment Grants and an Art Meets Activism Grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women. In partnership with the Kentucky Domestic Violence Association, she is the creator of “The Swallowtale Project,” a creative writing workshop dedicated to the women inmates at the Federal Prison Camp, and the creator and artistic director of the Gypsy Poetry Slam featured annually at the Kentucky Women Writers Conference. She has taught poetry and creative writing classes at Lexington’s Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning and is currently in the doctoral program for creative writing at the University of Kentucky. She was visiting writer and instructor in Foundations of the Liberal Arts at Transylvania from 2008-09. She is the writer, producer, editor and director of the film “Waterbody” and the author of poetry books “Kaffir Lily” and “How Swallowtails Become Dragons.” Her work may also be found in the anthologies “New Growth: Recent Kentucky Writings” and “America! What’s My Name?,” and in the journals “Union Station Magazine,” “Tidal Basin Review,” “Muzzle,” “Caduceus,” “Alehouse,” “Reverie,” and  Appalachian Heritage Magazine, among others. Spriggs currently serves on

"Jewish Views of Jesus" lecture at Transylvania March 29, at 7 p.m.; free and open to the public

LEXINGTON, Ky.—The theological boundaries and historical relationship between Jews and Christians is the focus of a pair of back-to-back lectures offered by rabbi, speaker, author and professor David Sandmel this month. The lectures are part of the Moosnick Lectureship in Judaic Studies, sponsored by the Moosnick Endowment. Sandmel’s lectures are presented by Transylvania University, Lexington Theological Seminary, Ohavay Zion Synagogue and Temple Adath Israel. Both lectures are free and open to the public. Sandmel will present the first lecture, “Jewish Views of Jesus,” Thursday, March 29, at 7 p.m. in Strickland Auditorium in the Brown Science Center at Transylvania. The lecture is free and open to the public. The second lecture, “Jews, Christians, and Israel” is March 30 at 5 p.m. at Temple Adath Israel. The lecture is free and open to the public. Sandmel is the Crown-Ryan Professor of Jewish Studies at the Catholic Theological Union and Rabbi Educator at Temple Sholom, both in Chicago. He is a former director of the National Jewish Scholars Project, a major initiative to promote discussion within the Jewish community and between Jews and Christians about the differences and similarities between the two traditions. He is the co-editor of “Christianity in Jewish Terms.” In addition, he is the lead editor of “Irreconcilable Differences? A Learning Resource for Jews and Christians,” which focuses on core theological issues on the boundary between Judaism and Christianity. Sandmel is also involved in Jewish-Muslim dialogue and in the

Economic update by Federal Reserve economist LaVaughn Henry at Transylvania March 23, free and open to the public

LEXINGTON, Ky.—LaVaughn Henry, vice president and senior regional officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, will offer an in-depth presentation on current economic conditions at a public forum in Carrick Theater at Transylvania University on March 23, from 8-10 a.m. The event is sponsored by The United Way of the Blue Grass, Business Lexington and Transylvania, and is free and open to the public. Henry will take questions from the audience following his presentation. Henry is responsible for building and maintaining a strong presence and reputation for the Federal Reserve Bank throughout the central and southern Ohio and eastern Kentucky region. He has diverse experience in the private and public sectors and recently served as senior director of market economics and risk analysis at PMI Group, one of the nation’s largest mortgage insurers. Henry has served as a senior economist with the Budget Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (formerly OFHEO) and the FDIC’s Resolution Trust Corporation. He has held positions at Fannie Mae, Ford Motor Company and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Carrick Theater is in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center at Transylvania. Parking is available in the lot behind the building, at the corner of Fourth and Upper streets. RSVPs are not necessary, but you can RSVP via this link http://lexeconforum.eventbrite.com

Leading constitutional law scholar to speak at Transylvania April 26; free and open to the public

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Yale University law and political science professor Akhil Reed Amar, one of this era’s most accomplished constitutional law scholars, will deliver Transylvania’s John Marshall Harlan Lecture on Thursday, April 26, at 6:30 p.m. in Carrick Theater. The lecture is free and open to the public. Amar, who will speak on “America’s Symbolic Constitution,” is Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale, where he teaches constitutional law in both Yale College and Yale Law School. He earned his B.A., summa cum laude, in 1980 from Yale College and his J.D. in 1984 from Yale Law School, where he served as an editor of The Yale Law Journal. After clerking for Judge Stephen Breyer, U.S. Court of Appeals, 1st Circuit, he joined the Yale faculty in 1985. Amar was named one of the top 20 contemporary U.S. legal thinkers by a Legal Affairs readers’ poll and served as a consultant for the television show “The West Wing.” “We are elated to have Akhil deliver our second John Marshall Harlan lecture,” said Transylvania President R. Owen Williams. “As one of the nation’s truly great constitutional law scholars, he is a perfect fit for this lecture series. In addition to being a prolific writer, he is a remarkably engaging speaker. We are fortunate to have him on campus, and we extend an invitation to our entire community to enjoy this wonderful event.” Amar is co-editor of a leading constitutional law casebook,