1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

News from Transy

Lawn of historic Old Morrison is scene for Transylvania’s commencement

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University’s 222 graduates welcomed the cool weather Saturday morning as they sat in their black caps and gowns soaking up the sunshine on the lawn of historic Old Morrison during the school’s commencement ceremony. Transylvania president R. Owen Williams conferred the bachelor of arts degree on the graduates, actor Steve Zahn delivered the keynote address, class of 2013 member Hannah Johnson was the student speaker and poet Nikky Finney received an honorary degree. Zahn, a Lexington resident who has appeared in movies including “Reality Bites,” “That Thing You Do!,” “You’ve Got Mail” and “Riding in Cars with Boys,” advised the graduates to take the back roads, where it’s hard to pass and you have to slow down and go through a lot of small towns. “That’s not to say that you shouldn’t take the highways, too,” he said. “It’s your turn to merge onto the interstate and go for it. But remember, the faster you go, the harder it will be to pull off onto the back road, and trust me, the back roads are better. They’re the ones you remember. “The long and the short of it is this: Don’t be in such a hurry to get where you think you’re supposed to be, because you’ll run the risk of missing the real opportunity. Live with integrity and passion. Treat yourself and others well. Humility mixed with focused tenacity will go a long way. Buy a radar

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Poet Nikky Finney to receive honorary degree from Transylvania University

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University will award the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters to poet Nikky Finney at the May 25 commencement ceremony on the front steps of historic Old Morrison. Finney is a nationally recognized poet and professor of English and creative writing at the University of Kentucky. She delivered the convocation address to Transylvania students in September 2012. Her latest book of poetry, “Head Off & Split,” won the 2011 National Book Award for Poetry and explores important people and events in African American history. One reviewer said the book confirmed her role as “…one of the most eloquent, urgent, fearless and necessary poets writing in America today….” Two other books of poetry have been award winners—“The World is Round” won the Benjamin Franklin Award for Poetry, and “Rice” won a PEN American Open Books Award. Her other writing includes “On Wings Made of Gauze,” a debut collection of poetry, and “Heartwood,” a collection of short stories. She also edited “The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South,” which has become an essential anthology of contemporary African American writers. Finney was born and raised in South Carolina as the child of activist parents. Her father was a civil rights attorney and her mother was a teacher. Coming of age during the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Arts Movement and seeing her parents deeply involved in the struggle for justice, she learned early on the power of language. Her

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Transylvania professor consulted for article in The New Yorker

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—In the May 6, 2013, issue of The New Yorker magazine, author Douglas Preston writes about the use of a new technology called lidar (light detection and ranging) that allows aerial mapping of both man-made objects and natural land forms that lie beneath dense vegetation. In the article, titled “The El Dorado machine: A new scanner’s rain-forest discoveries,” Preston first allows Transylvania anthropology professor Chris Begley to describe the rigors of the more traditional methods of mapping archaeological sites in the Honduran jungle. “It’s mountainous. There’s white water. There are jumping vipers, coral snakes, fer-de-lance, stinging plants, and biting insects. And then there are the illnesses—malaria, dengue fever, leishmaniasis, Chagas’ disease.” As one of the foremost experts on the region’s archaeological sites, Begley has bushwhacked a good bit of this formidable territory. And he understands that the introduction of this new technology could possibly save years of on-ground exploration amid punishing human hardship. “This data will certainly make it much easier for archaeologists to target their efforts, and the kinds of month-long jungle treks that I undertook over two decades can be reduced to much shorter trips targeting particular sites. This will make research in the area accessible to many more people who would not have been able to withstand the rigors of work in the area previously.” Begley has conducted ongoing research in the region, beginning in the 1990s while he was completing graduate studies at the University

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Transylvania University offers a variety of summer courses

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LEXINGTON, Ky., – Central Kentucky residents are invited to enroll in a summer term class at Transylvania to fulfill an academic degree requirement for another university or simply to pursue a subject area of interest. Seventeen courses are offered, ranging from Underwater Archaeology to Principles of Macroeconomics to Public Speaking. “This is a fantastic opportunity for individuals in Lexington or the surrounding area to take a class with one of Transylvania’s esteemed faculty members and enjoy our distinctive academic experience,” said Michelle Rawlings, university registrar. “Whether you’re a student at another university home for the summer and need to fill a fine arts general education requirement or prepare to take organic chemistry in the fall-or if you’ve just always wanted to know more about Greek mythology-we have a course this summer that may interest you.” Summer term begins June 10 and ends July 12. Transylvania classes are open to any area resident with a high school diploma. Details about the courses offered, tuition, and registering as a non-degree student are available here. For more information, contact Rawlings at registrar@transy.edu or (859) 233-8116.

Collins book tells stories from human side of our national pastime

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Baseball players in America have come to evoke visions of gods with enormous athletic abilities and even higher salaries, heroes in a sport that draws tens of millions of fans each year to see these figures hit towering home runs while staying respectfully stoic until the long season ends. Transylvania University senior Cory Collins sets out to show a forgotten side of baseball in his new book, “Bats That Won’t Break.” The book chronicles the stories of eight members of the Louisville Bats, a minor league affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, as they spend time middling in the lower levels of baseball, traveling by bus rather than private jet and making a fraction of what the typical big leaguer earns. Some of those players, like Dominican outfielder Denis Phipps, came from humble roots and are waiting their turn to break in to the Major Leagues. Others, such as catcher Corky Miller, will spend their entire careers in the minors with virtually no shot at The Big Show. Bats manager David Bell had an 11-year MLB career and now spends his time coaching up the next round of hopefuls, and even groundskeeper Tom Nielsen hopes for a shot to curate a big league diamond, a skill he taught himself by mowing freshly cut lines in his backyard as a child. “All of these guys started with a boyhood dream, and I wanted to look at how they transformed from having

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