News from Transy

LEXINGTON, Ky.—This matchmaking service is for the birds. Transylvania University biology professor Becky Fox came up with a sort of “eHarmony for parrots” when she discovered how cockatiels’ personality types predicted long-term compatibility. She’ll share the results in an upcoming issue of the journal Zoo Biology. “It’s my hope that some zoos that are managing birds in captivity might find this kind of thing useful,” Fox said. If there were a Valentine’s Day for cockatiels, these findings would offer hope to any of the small, crested Australian parrots who are, shall we say, hawkish. The paper is based on data she collected in graduate school about a colony of captive cockatiels that have called the University of California, Davis, home since the 1970s. Observers, mostly undergrads, rated birds on personality traits and waited to see who they paired with. Then the researchers watched the birds for things such as how much they fought with their “spouses” (the species can form lasting relationships), whether they managed to hatch eggs and how well they coordinated incubating. Unsurprisingly, the survey showed birds that got along better were more skilled at coordinating behavior and raising chicks. But did this have to do with how well the personalities of these popular pets meshed? You bet. Turns out, birds of a feather don’t seem to flock together. Specifically, two aggressive birds—ones that will race across the aviary to knock another off a favorite food dish—aren’t a

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University accounting students will assist taxpayers with an income of $52,000 or less in the preparation of Internal Revenue Service income tax forms 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ and Kentucky tax forms. The service is free. All forms will be filed electronically. The students cannot prepare Schedule C forms. Student volunteers will be available each Wednesday in February (5, 12, 19 and 26) from 3-5:30 p.m. at Transylvania’s Cowgill Center for Business, Economics and Education on Third Street. Free parking is available in the university’s general parking lots along North Upper Street. This is a popular program and taxpayers will be served on a first-come, first-served basis. Transylvania accounting students, who have completed an income tax preparation training program, will work under the supervision of accounting professors to aid taxpayers. Individuals interested in this free service should bring with them all of the necessary information, including W2s, 1099s (interest income statements), state and federal tax returns from last year, the IRS forms received in the mail and the birthdates and social security numbers for any dependents. Transylvania has offered this free program to the Lexington community for more than 30 years. For more information, contact Stephanie Coriale at 859-233-8104.

  Bill Bissett Mary Cromer LEXINGTON, Ky.—Kentucky has a complex—and sometimes contentious—relationship with its official state mineral. To facilitate a balanced dialog on the issue, Transylvania University will host a Conversation on Coal in Kentucky on Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 6 p.m. in the William T. Young Campus Center. The event, which is free and open to the public, will reflect the ambivalent views of coal in the state. Over the years, the mineral has had a major impact on Kentucky’s economy—it provided jobs and ensured we had abundant energy at relatively low cost. But it also has raised environmental and health concerns. The dialog will feature Bill Bissett, president of the Kentucky Coal Association, and Mary Varson Cromer, a staff attorney with the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center. “It’s an opportunity for us to offer a venue for this conversation—where you have different people with different perspectives talking about an issue, which really does not happen enough,” said Angela Poe, Transylvania’s sustainability director. Her office and the university’s Student Government Association Activities Board are hosting the dialog. Moderated by Tom Martin, a local journalist and writer for Transylvania’s communications office, the event will include time for audience questions and a coffee house discussion sponsored by the Transy Environmental Action League. The idea for the Conversation on Coal emerged while making arrangements for a Feb. 15 Ben Sollee concert at Transylvania. The Lexington native has drawn attention to the practice of

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LEXINGTON, Ky.―It’s been a whirlwind two years for Transylvania University art professor Kurt Gohde and English professor Kremena Todorova, who conceived the wildly popular and nationally acclaimed Lexington Tattoo Project. The tattoos are long healed, and now the only ink waiting to dry is the publisher’s process ink for their new 160-page full-color coffee table book, due to be released Friday, Feb. 7, during an event at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. A multi-phase, multi-media artwork, The Lexington Tattoo Project boldly asked Lexingtonians to volunteer their bodies as the canvas for an inked phrase from an original poem about their beloved Bluegrass city. Gohde and Todorova asked author, poet and Transylvania graduate Bianca Spriggs to write a love letter to Lexington, which resulted in “Lexington is the ___________ of the Universe.” The poem, written in contrapuntal form, incorporated words provided by Facebook friends to fill in the blank. As the 253 participants were inked, Gohde and Todorova photographed each tattoo. Finally, a video was created by digitally stitching together all the photographs, which were cleverly designed to create a secondary image when viewed together. The video includes Spriggs reading the poem, underscored by a contrapuntal music composition by singer-songwriter Ben Sollee. The video premiered on Nov. 15, 2013, during PRHBTN, Lexington’s annual street-art festival, to a wildly enthusiastic audience. “Like so many other parts of the Lexington Tattoo Project, this book is a result of collaborative effort,” said

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—How did a Civil War regiment of African American soldiers shape the America of today? The multifaceted Noah Griffin—singer, performer, historian, poet, TV and radio personality, inspirational speaker, former political campaign aide, and graduate of Harvard Law School—will present “The Massachusetts 54th Regiment: Storming the Ramparts for Today’s America” at Transylvania University’s Carrick Theater in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center on Tuesday, February 4, at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment was the first unit of African American soldiers to be recruited in the North to serve in the Civil War. Its history provides insight into the complexities of the nation during the Civil War and, according to Griffin, a better understanding of contemporary America. Griffin will speak about his personal search for “the most valiant regiment in the Civil War, which opened the door for black citizenship, the vote and the America of today where we have the first African American president.” Griffin’s life’s journey has come full circle. Gifted in song at an early age, but drawn to explore many of his other talents, Griffin realigned his priorities after a stroke and paralysis in later life compelled him to return to singing. Now he combines his art with his other gifts to inspire audiences to think about larger issues and to pursue “what you were intended to do in life…[to] live your dream.” Griffin’s lecture is

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