News from Transy Archives

Transylvania breaks record with official enrollment

Posted on September 20, 2007July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania’s campus is bustling with a record enrollment of 1,153 students. The former record, set in 2005, was 1,151, and last year’s enrollment was 1,117. President Charles L. Shearer said he expects enrollment to level off at or slightly below the current level. “We are delighted that our enrollment has increased at the rate it has over the past decade,” said Shearer. “Our enrollment is at capacity.” The record enrollment is attributed to an excellent retention rate of returning students combined with a full class of new students and 14 transfer students. Of the 335 members of the Class of 2011: 44 are Kentucky Governor’s Scholars, and five attended the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts Four are National Merit Finalists; two are National Merit Semifinalists Seven percent identify themselves as racial or ethnic minorities 48 percent rank in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class, and 76 percent rank in the top 25 percent of their class 28 were valedictorians, and 18 were salutatorians 60 percent have a high school grade point average above 3.50, and the mean GPA of the incoming class is 3.51 The ACT scores for this group are impressive with a middle 50 percent range of 23-29 “This year’s class is outstanding in every measure of academic strength,” said Shearer, “and these new students join a student body that is also academically strong. I think our enrollment record speaks very well

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Transylvania begins construction on new suite-style residence hall; announces name

Posted on August 16, 2007July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania President Charles L. Shearer has announced that ground is being prepared for a new suite-style residence hall off Fourth Street. “I’m delighted to announce that our new residence facility will be named Thomson Residence Hall in honor of Joe Thomson and his wife, JoAnn. Mr. Thomson is a 1966 graduate of Transylvania and a member of the Board of Trustees. Construction of the $5.5 million building, which will be located off southwest Fourth Street, will begin soon and will be completed by August 1, 2008. “I’m grateful to Joe and JoAnn,” said Shearer. “It’s gratifying when an alum steps up and makes a lead gift toward such an important project. We truly appreciate the Thomsons and all the donors, including trustees, friends and foundations that have given to this project.” Each of the 31 suites will house two students and contain a sleeping area, a living area, a kitchenette and private bath. The three-story building, with 28,000 square feet, will also house a café and large meeting room and will be heated and cooled with a geothermal HVAC system, the most energy efficient, environmentally clean system available. Shearer said that Thomson Hall will provide students with a living experience that meets contemporary expectations. “Many students desire apartment or suite-style accommodations and we’re pleased that this new residence hall represents a forward-looking approach,” he said. Transylvania currently has two residence facilities—Rosenthal Residence Complex and Poole Residence Center—that offer either

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Symposium will highlight medical history of Transylvania University, Lexington, and the Ohio River Valley

Posted on August 7, 2007July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Representatives from the Smithsonian Institution and the Filson Club of Louisville will join approximately 60 physicians, historians, and teachers on Wednesday, August 8, to take part in a day-long symposium at Transylvania University focusing on the historically significant early 19th-century heritage of Transylvania’s medical school, along with that of Lexington and the Ohio River Valley. Founded in 1799 as the first medical college west of the Allegheny Mountains, the Transylvania medical department trained more than 6,400 of America’s early physicians before its closing in 1859. These doctors played an important role in spreading the practice of medicine throughout the South and Southwest as the nation expanded westward. “Transylvania’s medical school had a national presence and was spoken of in the same breath as its sister institutions at Pennsylvania, Columbia, Harvard and Dartmouth,” said Transylvania President Charles L. Shearer. “This symposium will shed light on the pioneering role the university played in early American medical education.” The symposium will have a regional character, with participants from throughout Kentucky as well as from Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee. In addition to the Smithsonian and Filson Club, the historic Locust Grove home in Louisville and the Fordham Sciences Library at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, will send representatives. Eric H. Christianson, associate professor and director of graduate studies in history and holder of a joint appointment in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Kentucky, will speak on medical training at

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Transylvania University establishes Lucille C. Little Endowed Chair in Theater; drama professor Tim Soulis named recipient

Posted on August 2, 2007June 17, 2021 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania President Charles L. Shearer has announced that drama professor Tim Soulis is the recipient of the Lucille C. Little Endowed Chair in Theater. The endowed chair was created with a challenge grant of $500,000 from the W. Paul and Lucille Caudill Little Foundation and is the first endowed chair at Transylvania. “We are extremely grateful to the Little Foundation for its generous support of the arts at Transylvania and I am delighted that Professor Soulis is the recipient,” said Shearer. “Tim’s dedication and commitment to our theater program is tremendous.” Soulis taught courses in drama and performance throughout the country and directed more than 70 productions before coming to Transylvania in 1994 as a Bingham Fellow. “The main purpose of Transylvania’s theater program is to develop in student actors, technicians, directors and playwrights the vocal and physical skills and intellectual and emotional maturity to explore drama as an important form of artistic and personal expression and fulfillment,” Soulis said. “This is in harmony with the University’s goals as a liberal arts institution to broaden student’s intellectual and creative abilities.” These goals will be enhanced by the endowed chair, which will allow operating funds to be redirected to new initiatives, which may include employing guest artists to direct theater productions; arranging trips to New York City for drama majors and minors to attend plays and musicals; organizing workshops featuring visiting actors, directors, playwrights, and designers; and augmenting funds for

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Three Transylvania professors—Ellen Cox, Kathy Egner and Kim Jenkins—receive prestigious Bingham Awards for excellence in teaching

Posted on July 30, 2007July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Philosophy professor Ellen Cox, education professor Kathy Egner, and mathematics professor Kim Jenkins have received Transylvania’s highest teaching honor—The Bingham Award for Excellence in Teaching. The recipients are selected by a committee composed of distinguished professors from leading liberal arts colleges and universities across the country. “The members of the selection committee are always impressed with the quality of teaching at Transylvania,” said President Charles L. Shearer. “We place a high priority on teaching excellence at Transylvania, and that fact is underscored by our Bingham Awards for Excellence in Teaching.” The Bingham Program is unique among faculty incentive programs in that it rewards superior teaching rather than research and its awards are substantial. Recipients receive annual salary supplements for five years and are then reevaluated for annual fellowships for up to 20 years. Cox came to Transylvania in 2002 after earning her Ph.D from DePaul University. With specialization in 20th century continental philosophy and women’s and gender studies, she teaches a range of courses from feminist philosophies to ethical theory. She uses a combination of Socratic teaching and close reading in the classroom, with class periods almost always dialogue driven, and on-going conversations that push students to take positions on the issues. “So much of what students want and expect to learn involves finality, one answer, a conversation closed,” Cox said. “I strive for them to recognize the difficulty and sometimes impossibility of resolving many of the important questions

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