News from Transy

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University’s innovative August term not only helps recent high school grads transition to college, but it’s also a valuable experience for the upper-class students who mentor them. These juniors and seniors—called August term scholars—advise students during their first few weeks on campus about life both inside and outside the classroom and work with faculty to develop First Engagements seminars, which hone new students’ critical, interpretative, and analytical abilities. “August term scholars serve as role models and peer mentors for new students and help guide them on what it means to be a scholar and a member of the Transylvania community,” said Michael Covert, associate vice president for retention and associate dean of students.  “They’re responsible for helping plan and facilitate all out-of-classroom events and activities, including campus speakers, social events and outings around town.” As this year’s term winds down, it’s a good time to reflect on what the program means to the upper-class students. “In my role as an August term scholar, I’ve found great joy in advising, instructing and mentoring first-year students—helping establish the foundation of their liberal arts education,” senior Skyler Slone said. These past three weeks have been a time of discovery for Slone as well, because he came to Transylvania before the program began in 2012. “I wish I had something like that in my first year,” he said. “Now I’ve experienced it from a different perspective—one that is just as rewarding. I’m

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — The national leadership society Omicron Delta Kappa has recognized recent Transylvania University graduate Raisa Tikhtman as a Leader of the Year in the area of campus or community service. The prestigious award honors students who have demonstrated the greatest dedication to one of five phases of campus life celebrated by ODK: athletics, campus or community service, creative and performing arts, journalism, speech and mass media, and scholarship. “Raisa Tikhtman is a natural leader in every sense,” said Tiffany Wheeler, who is the ODK faculty advisor at Transylvania and an education professor and program director. “She is poised, decisive, and highly organized. Raisa possesses a collaborative spirit and is adept at enabling others to utilize their strengths while working together for a common purpose. She is also extremely versatile and has been very successful in leading a variety of organizations, which include serving as president of her sorority and ODK, an August term scholar, and a site leader for Transylvania Alternative Spring Break.” Tikhtman’s leadership qualities match her strengths as a scholar, Wheeler said, noting that she graduated with a 4.0 GPA in both of her majors: biochemistry and French. In fact, the combination became her passport to study nanotechnology in France and traditional medicine in Madagascar.   “The balance between natural science and a humanities-based education is really important to me,” Tikhtman explained. “It’s been essential to my mental stability as a student, and it’s forced me to think

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University’s downtown campus will provide a home base for WindSync while the Houston quintet serves as ensemble-in-residence for the 2014 Chamber Music Festival of Lexington. When Barbara LoMonaco, vice president for student affairs and dean of students, learned that the festival’s plans to accommodate the group had encountered complications, she readily offered individual rooms in a university residence hall for the duration of the musicians’ visit to Lexington. “We are delighted to support the Chamber Music Festival of Lexington by hosting members of  WindSync on our campus,” LoMonaco said. LoMonaco was supported in her efforts by music professor Ben Hawkins. “Transylvania and its music program continue to seek ways to collaborate with our neighbors to enhance the quality of life in our great city,” he said. The 10-day festival begins on the evening of Thursday, Aug. 14, with a WindSync concert featuring barbecue and beer on the lawn of Loudon House, home of the Lexington Art League. The event is free and open to the public. Hailed by the Houston Chronicle as “revolutionary chamber musicians,” WindSync is recognized internationally for dramatic and adventurous programming in venues ranging from concert halls to museums, universities and schools.  The young, energetic group plays exclusively from memory, incorporating elements of staging and choreography. For more information, contact Tom Martin with the Transylvania communications office at 859-281-3617.

LEXINGTON, Ky.— The Princeton Review listed Transylvania University in its publication “The Best 379 Colleges,” earning the school a spot in the top 15 percent of four-year colleges in the United States. “Transylvania offers outstanding academics, which is the chief reason we selected it for the book,” said Robert Franek, Princeton Review’s senior vice president and author of “The Best 379 Colleges.” Along with institutional data, campus visits, and opinions of independent college counselors, inclusion in the list was determined by an 80-question survey of 130,000 students around the country, asking them to rate their school on several different criteria and report their campus experiences. The book’s two-page profile of Transylvania includes students’ comments. They described Transylvania as “an extremely close-knit campus” and “a holistic education experience where one can grow intellectually and academically while participating in a vibrant social community.” One student extolled Transylvania’s diversity, saying, “We also have a huge population of individuals from different backgrounds, including differences in sexual orientation, class, religion, region, and political orientation.” Other comments praised the quality and accessibility of the professors, a vibrant student activities life, athletics, and the location of the university in downtown Lexington. The Princeton Review is a New York-based education service company known for its education, admission, and test-preparation services. For more information, contact Brad Goan, vice president for enrollment and dean of admissions, at 859-233-8242.