News from Transy Archives

Transylvania University first-year students focus on two books during August term

Posted on August 28, 2012July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University first-year students are in their final week of the university’s inaugural, three-week August term that is designed to introduce them to the expectations of college work by reading and discussing two books. The 350 students read Come and Go, Molly Snow, a novel by Kentuckian Mary Ann Taylor-Hall, over the summer. Once they arrived on campus Aug. 10, they began reading The Professor and the Madman, a non-fiction work by Simon Winchester that tells the story of two of the key figures in the making of the Oxford English Dictionary. The books were chosen by a committee of faculty members who are teaching the three-week First Engagements course. They looked for books that they felt would foster a joy of reading while also providing a wide range of discussion topics. Groups of about 16 students meet for three hours every weekday morning to discuss the books and related materials. “August term scholars”—Transylvania juniors and seniors who serve as mentors both in and out of class—assist the professors. John Svarlien, classics professor and academic director of August term, says choosing these particular books was “a stroke of genius or very good luck” because they complement each other and carry out the theme of the term: Making Sense. “Come and Go, Molly Snow helps students make sense on a personal level by raising issues related to an individual’s past, future and relationships,” he explains. “The Professor and the Madman

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Transylvania’s Don Combs: Gold Medalist at Giving Back

Posted on August 20, 2012July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University student Don Combs won a gold medal this summer, but it’s not from the London Olympics. Combs was presented the prestigious Congressional Award Gold Medal by U.S. Rep. Harold “Hal” Rogers in recognition of his outstanding public service record and personal development achievements. A senior from Pikeville, Ky., he is the first to receive the award in the 5th Congressional District, which Rogers represents, and is one of only 177 gold medalists in the nation. “I congratulate Don on this accomplishment,” Rogers said. “I’m thrilled to see young people taking initiative in their communities to lend a helping hand, advance their skill sets, strive for healthy living, and take on character-building projects.” The congressional award is given to young Americans aged 14-23 and requires 400 hours of community service, 200 hours of both personal development and physical fitness activities, and a four-night expedition. Combs fulfilled the requirements through his positions as president of Kappa Alpha Order fraternity and southern regional chief for the Boy Scouts’ Order of the Arrow. His expedition consisted of a week-long canoe trip with the Boy Scouts. With a full academic load, Combs traveled 103 days last year for the Boy Scouts, conducting leadership seminars and leading events. When he wasn’t hopping on a plane to mentor young men all around the country, he did the same in his own backyard. Under his leadership, Kappa Alpha Order organized the Transy 500 Race to

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Transylvania graduate earns Al Smith Fellowship for poetry

Posted on August 17, 2012July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Affrilachian poet and 2003 Transylvania University graduate Bianca Spriggs has received a 2012 Kentucky Arts Council Al Smith Individual Artist Fellowship for excellence and creativity. The fellowship awards are named after retired Kentucky journalist Al Smith, who is a past arts council board chair. The program recognizes and supports Kentucky artists producing high-quality work. Artists can apply for the fellowship just once, and Spriggs was chosen along with eight other literary artists and one composer from a pool of 56 applicants. The award also comes with $7,500 that is unrestricted for any use. Spriggs will use hers to travel and present her poetry and her recent short film Waterbody, which was adapted from one of her poems about a woman discovering a sickly mermaid and nursing her back to health. She will be featured at Mermaids and Merwomen in Black Folklore, an exhibition and festival in Charleston, S.C. in September, and in October she will travel to New York City to read at the Nuyorican Café and The New School. She hopes both trips will further her exposure as a poet. “The fellowship allows me to travel and get a chance to hit a couple new places,” Spriggs said. “I can show my work, and I can represent Kentucky around the country.” Spriggs graduated from Transylvania with a history degree and studio art minor, and she earned an M.A. in English from the University of Kentucky, where she is

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Transylvania presents first-year students with symbols of commitment

Posted on August 15, 2012July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.— During the August 11 induction ceremony for Transylvania’s class of 2016, President R. Owen Williams presented each first-year student with a large, gold commemorative coin inscribed with the university’s motto: In Lumine illo Tradimus Lumen (“In that light, we pass on the light”). As Michael Covert, associate vice president for retention and associate dean of students, explained, “We believe that the education that Transylvania students receive yields enlightened individuals. Each generation of Pioneers benefits from the light of those who came before, and in turn offers the same to those following behind.” The other side of the coin is inscribed with a quote from poet Emily Dickinson: “I dwell in Possibility.” Students were charged with keeping the coin in a safe place during their four-year tenure at Transylvania. As they prepare for graduation in the spring of 2016, the students will be asked to present their coin to someone who played a significant role in helping them graduate. Covert emphasized that this will likely not be an easy decision, and students should consider the recipient carefully. Judging by the reactions on social media, students embraced this new tradition and the tangible reminder of the university’s and the students’ goals. The coin is a symbol of the unlimited possibilities of each student and the unwavering dedication of the faculty and staff. With the exchange of this token, there is every expectation that these students will indeed “pass on the

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Three Transylvania University May graduates receive competitive Fulbright grants to teach in South Korea, Spain and Malaysia

Posted on August 3, 2012July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Three members of Transylvania University’s class of 2012 have received prestigious Fulbright grants. Viktoria Safarian, Ben Costigan and Ruth Kloha will spend the next nine to 12 months teaching, creating independent projects and engaging in community service projects in diverse international locations. Viktoria Safarian Safarian, a philosophy major from Lexington, has enrolled in Harvard Law School but will first spend a year in South Korea teaching English to secondary students as part of her Fulbright award. Safarian, who is native Armenian, hopes the fellowship will make her more marketable when she earns her law degree. “I knew I wanted to do some kind of fellowship, and the Fulbright is very well known,” she said. “I want to learn to speak Korean, and I want to learn how to cook Korean food. I’ll also be traveling to Japan and China.” Part of the fellowship includes an independent project in conjunction with her time teaching. Safarian is working with Bryan Station High School in Lexington to develop collaborative art projects that students from Bryan Station and her school in South Korea can do at the same time. She’ll start an afterschool art program where students will work from similar prompts as the ones in Lexington. Safarian is interested in public interest law, particularly immigration and refugee status. She has previously traveled to India and the Philippines on research projects through Transylvania Kenan Grants and to Yale University’s summer bioethics internship. South

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