News from Transy

LEXINGTON Ky.—Transylvania University’s speech and debate team recently won major honors in both state and national competitions. Last month at the Pi Kappa Delta Nationals in Athens, Ohio, team member Taylor Deaton of Richmond placed fifth in the nation in extemporaneous speaking and won an All American award. Teammate Rebecca Radcliffe of Lawrenceburg was an All American finalist. Later in March at the Kentucky Forensics Association tournament—which the University of Kentucky hosted on Transylvania’s campus—Radcliffe and Deaton were state champions in parliamentary debate, and Deaton was state champion in extemporaneous speaking. Both competitors also received the prestigious Harlan Hamm Award. “Taylor and Rebecca are both incredibly deserving of this recognition,” coach Gary Deaton said. “They are both phenomenally successful competitors, tremendous leaders for our program and exceptional ambassadors for the speech and debate activity. They have led Transylvania through four of our most successful years. ”The Hamm Award recognizes those who represent the ideals of forensics competition. Harlan Hamm, who was a coach at Rowan County High School and Morehead State, was not only tremendously successful but also known throughout the state and national forensics community for his student-centered and ethical approach. Also at the KFA tournament, first-year student Riley Bresnahan of West Virginia won the state championship in IPDA debate. Another top award went to Transylvania alum Raven Mineo Webster, who is the school’s associate director of forensics. The KFA’s Student Organization recognized her as the Coach of the

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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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