1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

News from Transy

Transylvania receives $800,000 to help combine liberal arts, digital technology

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LEXINGTON, Ky.— Transylvania University is working to build a national reputation for applying digital technology to a liberal arts curriculum. The Bingham Fund for Excellence in Teaching at Transylvania University has awarded two grants totaling $800,000 as part of the Transylvania Initiative for Digital Technology, Research, and Creativity (DTRC). The Bingham Fund was established to promote excellence and dedication among the school’s faculty who demonstrate exceptional teaching qualities. The grants will fund the expansion of digital tools in classrooms and laboratories and will help train faculty and students to incorporate digital pedagogies into their courses and scholarly activities. In addition to financing travel to conferences and on-campus speakers, the funds will allow the university to hire a full-time digital content specialist with expertise in instructional technology. This initiative comes at an opportune time, as Transylvania prepares to open its Carpenter Academic Center. The classroom building will integrate cutting-edge technologies, such as Mondopad collaborative touchscreens. Professors Kerri Hauman and Tim Polashek (pictured) serve as co-directors of the Digital Liberal Arts Initiative, which received the DTRC grants. They are experts in digital education and extensively apply digital technology in their research and creative work. “Like any medium that has such a pervasive role in human affairs, modern technology needs to be understood from many different perspectives,” said Transylvania President Seamus Carey. “Providing such perspective is one of the great benefits of liberal education.”

Transylvania to host renowned scholar Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—This year’s Moosnick Lectureship in Judaic Studies will feature renowned scholar Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi at Transylvania University on Nov. 1. She will address one of the most pressing issues of our times: “Jewish, Christian, Muslim Hope: Why We Need Each Other Now.” The talk will be at 7 p.m. in Carrick Theater. Rabbi Sabath serves the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion as President’s Scholar and as the national director of recruitment and admissions. She also has served as vice president of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, where she was a faculty member for more than a decade. She has co-authored two books, writes a monthly column in the Jerusalem Post and contributes to The Times of Israel, The Huffington Post and other publications. The following evening (Nov. 2) at 7 p.m., Rabbi Sabath will present “The Urgency of Leadership: The Unique Leadership Challenges Facing Millennials and Gen Zers (and What It Means for the Rest of Us)” at Temple Adath Israel in Lexington. Both lectures are free and open to the public. Rabbi Sabath’s visit is co-sponsored by Transylvania and the Lexington Theological Seminary.

Career Preparation

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More Than Money Transylvania is a leading advocate for the liberal arts, so it makes sense the university would prepare its future grads for more than just a high-paying job to keep up with the Joneses. The school’s career and mentoring programs provide skills and experiences that are not only desired by employers—increasing the likelihood of a nice paycheck—but also those that help the grads find personal fulfillment both on the job and off. “In working with students as they select majors and investigate careers, we want to examine their values, skills, personalities and interests as well as learn more about the world of work,” said Mike Nichols, a psychology professor and career counselor. Transylvania facilitates real-life career experiences that can show students pathways they didn’t even think possible and free them from self-imposed limitations such as: I’m an accounting major so I should be a CPA. (After all, the “liberal” in “liberal arts” is derived from the Latin word for free.) Through programs such as the 100 Doors to Success mentoring initiative and internships (academic or otherwise) facilitated by the university’s Career Development office, students travel beyond the Transy bubble to learn about an array of career possibilities—often stepping outside their comfort zone. “It’s like Baskin Robbins: 31 flavors,” said Susan Rayer, director of career development. “Taste test. Go out and see what you like to do.” It’s not likely Rayer will let this ice cream sit around long

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Unlearn Fear + Hate

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An Intervention Into the LIfe of a City Through Art Professors Kurt Gohde and Kremena Todorova have ventured from the corner of Third and Broadway to create art projects that are far from what you might associate with Transy. Their new project, Unlearn Fear + Hate, also takes shape off campus—for instance, as a metal halo bearing the message attached to the 21c Museum Hotel in downtown Lexington. But the saying was so powerful and timely that Transylvania incorporated it into the very fabric of this academic year—from endowed lectures to an embroidery project. Todorova, associate professor of English, didn’t want unlearn fear and hate to become just words that students occasionally heard about something going on “out there”—a noble idea, of course, but not terribly meaningful to them. Gohde, professor of art and chair of the Fine Arts program, was on board with that. “We’ve never done anything where the whole campus community was involved, and that was a really exciting idea,” he said. The theme ties into a dialog happening on the national level—and into the university’s overall calling, said Laura Bryan, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the university. “These conversations and activities are consistent with the mission of the liberal arts education.”  Jeremy Paden, associate professor of Spanish and Foreign Languages program director, is helping thread Unlearn Fear + Hate through Transylvania’s academics. This effort raises important questions. “As an institute of higher learning,

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Transylvania ranks among nation’s best liberal arts colleges for academics, value

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LEXINGTON Ky.—U.S. News & World Report once again ranked Transylvania University among the nation’s top-100 liberal arts colleges for both academics and value. Released today, the 2018 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges Rankings included Transylvania in its top National Liberal Arts Colleges and Best Value Schools categories. These are two of several recent rankings that highlight the quality and value of a Transylvania education. “These recognitions are another reminder of how well we prepare our students for the workforce, and for life in general,” President Seamus Carey said. “Our dedicated faculty get to know them personally while teaching them important life skills, such as critical thinking, lifelong learning and community engagement.” When committing to a school, students and their parents find national rankings to be a useful tool. “A college education is one of the most important—and one of the most costly—investments that prospective students will ever make,” according to U.S. News. Transylvania will appear in the upcoming “Best Colleges 2018″ guidebook. The university tied for 87th place among the nation’s liberal arts schools for academic excellence. Transylvania also ranked 58th in the Best Value Schools category—which highlights colleges that provide a quality education at an affordable price—and 118th in the High School Counselor Rankings. Last month the Princeton Review included Transylvania in “The Best 382 Colleges: 2018 Edition,” a book that features the top 15 percent of the nation’s four-year colleges. The book featured feedback from the

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