News from Transy

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Why do people in all cultures sing or play instruments? And why do humans have a special capacity to make and enjoy music? Steven Mithen, professor of early prehistory and pro-vice-chancellor at the University of Reading in England, will offer his theories on these questions during a lecture at Transylvania University on Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7:30 p.m. in Carrick Theater. The lecture is sponsored by the Bingham-Young Fellowship Program and Transylvania’s Creative Intelligence Lecture Series. It’s free and open to the public. The subject of Mithen’s lecture, “The Music Instinct: The Evolutionary Basis of Musicality,” is drawn from his life-long research into early prehistoric communities and the evolution of human intelligence, language and music. His research includes long-term field projects in western Scotland (Mesolithic) and southern Jordan (early Neolithic). In 2005 he wrote “The Singing Neanderthals,” one of several books he has authored on the creative and cognitive life of early man. Having originally studied fine art at the Slade School, he completed a B.A. in prehistory and archaeology at Sheffield University, an M.S. in biological computation from York University and a Ph.D. in archaeology from Cambridge University, where he taught prior to moving to the University of Reading in 1992. For more information about the Bingham lecture, contact music professor Ben Hawkins at bhawkins@transy.edu or 859-233-8259.

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Michele Norris, award-winning journalist and host and special correspondent for National Public Radio, will speak at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 8 in Transylvania’s Haggin Auditorium  as part of the Kenan Lecture Series, funded by a grant from the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust. This lecture is part of Transylvania’s year-long program, Still Overcoming: Striving for Inclusiveness, and is free and open to the public. Norris will discuss her book “The Grace of Silence: A Memoir,” which focuses on how America talks about race and explores her own family’s racial legacy.   Before coming to NPR, Norris was a correspondent for ABC News. As a contributing correspondent for the “Closer Look” segments on “World News Tonight with Peter Jennings,” Norris reported extensively on education, inner city issues, the nation’s drug problem and poverty. She has also reported for the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times. Norris has received numerous awards, including the 2009 Journalist of the Year award from the National Association of Black Journalists and their 2006 Salute to Excellence Award for her coverage of Hurricane Katrina. In 2007 she was honored with Ebony Magazine’s eighth annual Outstanding Women in Marketing & Communications Award and in 2009 was named one of Essence Magazine’s 25 Most Influential Black Americans. Norris also earned both an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award for her contribution to ABC News’ coverage of 9/11. Norris attended the University of Wisconsin, where she majored

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Michael Bell Angela Hurley Abdulaziz Sachedina Marian McClure Taylor Jon Weece LEXINGTON, Ky.—As part of its ongoing efforts to spark conversation about the value of an inclusive community, Transylvania University is sponsoring a public forum featuring diverse religious leaders at 7 p.m. Oct. 3 in the William T. Young Campus Center Gym. Panelists will include the Rev. Jon Weece of Southland Christian Church; the Rev. Dr. Marian McClure Taylor, executive director of the Kentucky Council of Churches; Abdulaziz Sachedina, professor and IIIT Chair in Islamic Studies at George Mason University; Michael Bell, Transylvania’s interim vice president and dean of the college; and Angela Hurley, Transylvania professor of education and chair of the Division of Humanities. The discussion will be driven by audience questions. The goal of the event, titled “Finding Common Cause in Our Differences,” is to bring together community members who share a vision of the common good to demonstrate how religion can unite, not divide.  The event is presented jointly by Transylvania’s Office of Religious Life and Office of Diversity and Inclusion. It is part of Transylvania’s year-long celebration of 50 years of integration on campus, Still Overcoming: Striving for Inclusiveness. Wilson Dickinson, associate dean for religious life, emphasized that “a focus on ‘interfaith’ is not about reducing our religious commitments to the lowest common denominator. It’s about true collaboration—creating places where we can work together with conviction, integrity and compassion.” The idea for the forum originated when

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University has recently invested $350,000 in its library to turn a basement space that was previously home to periodical stacks into a contemporary, comfortable, modular space dedicated to tutoring, academic services, technology tools and student collaboration and group projects. The Academic Center for Excellence (ACE) provides a wide variety of services. Space has been designated for math and science tutoring, a satellite classroom for the university’s Writing Center, the Technology Learning Center, and the Learning Skills Program, which offers instruction in time management and studying and reading techniques, among other topics. The library also will staff a help desk for students in the evenings. In addition, ACE provides video equipment so students can record and play back presentations or practice interviews. It also features collaboration technology that allows up to four students to plug in tablets or laptops and view content from the devices on a large monitor. To further encourage teamwork, there is space for group discussion and rooms with video conferencing capability to connect students to others around the world. Additionally, the furniture is easily movable and can be combined in creative ways. “The goal of this is to bring together the academic support services that we have on campus,” library director Susan Brown said. “By working together we make each other stronger, and by making each other stronger, we make our students stronger.” With the creation of ACE, the university also will expand the range

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—The American Spiritual Ensemble, founded and directed by University of Kentucky professor Everett McCorvey, will perform at Transylvania University Sept. 22 at 3 p.m. in Haggin Auditorium of the Mitchell Fine Arts Center. The concert is free and open to the public. The ensemble, which includes celebrated vocalists from across the U.S., performs a varied repertoire, from Negro spirituals to classical works to Broadway tunes. Its members have sung in theaters and opera houses around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and abroad in Italy, Germany, Britain, Scotland, Spain and Japan. The ensemble’s performance at Transylvania is part of Still Overcoming: Striving for Inclusiveness, the university’s year-long celebration of 50 years of desegregation on campus and acknowledgment of the strides the university and society at large have yet to make. McCorvey, the director of UK’s Opera Theatre, returned to his alma mater, the University of Alabama, in June for the 50-year commemoration of its desegregation. In an article that appeared in the Lexington Herald-Leader on June 30, 2013, McCorvey wrote: “Today in Tuscaloosa, and in many universities around the United States, we celebrate the success of education for all and the strides that we have made as a country in breaking the hold of segregation and providing access to all who desire it. “While acknowledging the complicated road ahead, we can still point to amazing progress since Kennedy’s address to the nation

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