News from Transy

LEXINGTON Ky.—Transylvania University professors and alums made considerable contributions to telling the story of women from Kentucky in a definitive book released this month. “Kentucky Women: Their Lives and Times” features essays from 17 scholars on a wide range of topics from across the state—from the story of Shawnee chief Nonhelema Hokolesqua to the lasting impact of former Gov. Martha Layne Collins. Transylvania history professor Melissa McEuen co-edited the book along with Thomas H. Appleton Jr., an Eastern Kentucky University history professor. Contributors include Martha Billips—who is a Transylvania graduate, English professor and associate dean for academic affairs—and alum John Paul Hill. “As a historian of American women, I am thrilled to have worked on this volume featuring so many creative and committed women in Kentucky’s rich past,” McEuen said. “Their stories reveal not only Kentucky’s contributions to social reform, health care, politics and cultural development but also the central place of women in these endeavors. Suffrage debates, frontier myths, world’s fairs, divided families, the Civil War, the civil rights movement and numerous other subjects fill the pages of the book.” McEuen’s essay on Nancy Newsom Mahaffey is titled “Preserving Heritage Foods in the ‘Ham Heartland.’” Billips, who wrote “A Writer’s Life,” said she feels “honored and privileged to have contributed an article on fiction writer Harriette Simpson Arnow. The editors have created an important volume that reflects the diverse experiences of the state’s women from the frontier period to the

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LEXINGTON Ky.—Now with more than 4 million views, a lip dub video by the brothers of Transylvania University’s Delta Sigma Phi is about to go prime time. NBC recently asked the Sigs if the network could air their rendition of Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” during a tribute to the pop star on the March 29 iHeartRadio Music Awards. Swift also gave the fraternity 76 tickets—one for each member plus a date—to her Oct. 20 concert in Lexington. In a tweet, she invited them to a show after the video went viral. From “Good Morning America” to a mention in Malaysia, numerous media stations and websites have featured the lip dub, which the Sigs made late last summer.

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University continued to grow its commitment to local agriculture on Friday, Feb. 20, during the annual Local Food Fair. The community came out to the Clive M. Beck Athletic Center to buy local food, meet growers and learn about innovative programs. “The Local Food Fair is a way Transylvania can connect our local farmers—especially those offering a Community Supported Agriculture program—with potential costumers and a way for us to connect the general public with growers,” said Angela Poe, director of the sustainability office, which hosts the fair. Customers of a CSA support farms through buying a share of the harvest. In turn, they receive boxes or baskets of fresh produce throughout the growing season. “Buying into a CSA can be intimidating if you haven’t done it before, but the Local Food Fair gives people a chance to talk to multiple farmers, face-to-face, about the CSA offerings,” Poe said. “This helps them get comfortable with the idea and find the CSA that will best fit their needs.” Participating farms included: Elmwood Stock, Fresh Stop Lexington, Triple J, Bellaire Blooms, Pine Barren, Stone Burr and McMaine’s Riverhaven. The Lexington and Bluegrass Farmers’ Markets were also represented, along with SeedLeaf, FoodChain and Sunny Side Up. Athenian Grill was on-hand serving food, so fair visitors could grab lunch or a snack while they talked to local farmers. Sustainability is a core value at Transylvania, which means the school has a strong commitment to local

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LEXINGTON, Ky.— Acclaimed writer and translator Achy Obejas will give a free, public lecture on “Identity and Dislocation” Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m. in Conference Room A of the Campus Center during her residency as a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow at Transylvania University. Obejas, a Cuban immigrant, is the author of critically acclaimed novels “Ruins” and “Days of Awe” and recently co-edited “Immigrant Voices: 21st Century Stories,” a collection of short stories written by recent immigrants to the United States. In addition to her public talk, she will lead classes and discussions with Transylvania students and faculty during her week-long fellowship. “Several faculty members were interested in Obejas and her experience with writing, literature, translation and immigration,” said psychology professor Meg Upchurch, who coordinates the lecture series on campus. “This will enable members of our campus community to have sustained conversations with her and explore her ideas more in depth.” Obejas is the Distinguished Visiting Writer at Mills College in Oakland, Calif. The Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows program, which is administered by the Council of Independent Colleges in Washington, D.C., brings prominent artists, diplomats, journalists, business leaders and other professionals to campuses across the United States for a residential program of classes, seminars, workshops, lectures and informal discussions. For 35 years, the Visiting Fellows have introduced students and faculty members at liberal arts colleges to a wide range of perspectives on life, society, community and achievement. Previous Wilson Fellows

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