News from Transy

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Kelsey McComas says she’s never been much of a biker. “But I’m learning to be,” she quickly adds. That’s a bit of an understatement. McComas, who will graduate from Transylvania University May 26, is scheduled to leave June 20 from Portsmouth, N.H., and spend the next 10 weeks biking 3,700 miles across country to Vancouver, British Columbia. It’s all for a good cause: Bike and Build, a non-profit that organizes trips in which groups of about 30 participants bike along eight cross-country routes and, along the way, build affordable housing for deserving citizens. Each rider must raise $4,500, and more than half of those funds go toward the building projects. “I’ve been active in community service since high school,” said McComas, an Ashland, Ky., native who volunteered at her community’s hospice, took a Transylvania service learning course in the Philippines and helped raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network. “I’m in a transitional stage of life right now—graduating from college and entering the real world. This is the perfect time to do something productive on my own, and I’m looking forward to seeing the immediate impact of our construction projects.” McComas started training for her ride in January, alternating between daily regimens of weight lifting and cardio. Once she raised $1,000, Bike and Build sent her a bike to use on the trip, and she started practicing on Lexington’s Legacy Trail. She says she’ll be ready when she gets to

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Twenty-four upperclassmen at Transylvania University have been named August Term Scholars for the 2012-13 academic year. August Term Scholars will serve as role models and mentors to first-year students while working with faculty members. August term will take place August 10-30 and will provide new students with an engaging and exciting introduction to Transylvania. During the fall semester, August Term Scholars will continue to meet weekly with a small group of students. This is the first year for Transylvania’s August term, a three-week academic and cocurricular program for entering students. August term students take a single course, a seminar titled “First Engagements: Enculturation into a Scholarly Community.” Basic texts are common to all students, while professors teaching the various sections of the course supplement their class with materials from their own academic disciplines. August term also includes traditional new-student orientation sessions on alcohol awareness, academic integrity and other topics. This year’s August Term Scholars were chosen from a pool of applicants. Requirements included a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, rising junior or senior status and a letter of recommendation from a faculty member. “They are outstanding students selected to help our new students make the academic and social transitions to college life,” said Michael Covert, associate dean of students and director of retention programs at Transylvania. “We couldn’t run the program without them.” The August Term Scholars are: Daniel Barber, rising junior from Frankfort, Ky. Carrie Burt, rising

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Sallie Showalter, communications and technology branch manager of the Kentucky Arts Council, has been named Transylvania’s web content writer/editor, effective May 1. “We are delighted to have Sallie join Transylvania University and our communications team,” said Sarah Emmons, associate vice president for communications and public relations. Showalter recently lead a team that reorganized and redesigned the Kentucky Arts Council website, improving its appeal and usability. She edited and designed the award-winning book, “Discover Art in Kentucky,” to promote opportunities for Kentuckians and visitors to engage with the arts. “Last fall, our web development manager Mariana Shochat completed the first phase of our newly designed site (www.transy.edu),” said Emmons. “Sallie will play an important role in enhancing the editorial content.” Showalter previously worked for IBM, Fazoli’s Management, Inc., Lexmark International and Toyota Motor Manufacturing. In 2000 she was honored as one of three Lexmark International employees around the world with a Vision Excellence Award. Showalter earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Centre College and her master’s in comparative literature from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She was a Rhodes Scholar nominee and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.