News from Transy

LEXINGTON, Ky.—President Charles L. Shearer announced today that Clay Kirk of New York City and Sarah Kennedy of Atlanta, sisters of Transylvania University Board of Trustees member James G. Kenan III, have established a scholarship program at Transylvania to honor their brother. The JGK III scholarships will include full tuition, room, board and fees for four years and will be awarded to two entering first-year students every four years, beginning fall of 2008. “We are extremely grateful to Clay and Sarah for their generous gift to Transylvania in honor of their brother Jim,” said Shearer. “Jim has been exceptionally committed to Transylvania. As vice chair of Transylvania’s Board of Trustees and chair of the Investment Committee, he has overseen management of the University’s endowment for the past 20 years.” Kenan provides close oversight of Transylvania’s investment strategies and during his tenure, the University’s endowment has grown from $35 to $145 million. The JGK III Scholarship Program will build on the principles established in Transylvania’s prestigious William T. Young Scholarship Program that was launched in 1982. Transylvania, founded in 1780, is the nation’s sixteenth oldest institution of higher learning and is consistently ranked in national publications as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country.

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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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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