1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

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Transylvania to host World Culture Fair

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University will bring the world to Lexington on Thursday, May 1, from 5-8 p.m., and we’d like you to join us. Transylvania’s historic campus in downtown Lexington will be the scene of the university’s first World Culture Fair. This lively event will offer an opportunity to sample foods indigenous to China, Ireland, Mexico and Brazil. Entertainment will include a salsa performance and a concert by the Kentucky Refugee Children’s Choir. Those in attendance can participate in a salsa class or join in the Brazilian drumming experience presented by Trio Ginga at 7 p.m., when more than 50 instruments will be available for fair-goers to learn to play as a group. The fair will also include exhibits by international students, faculty and staff representing their native cultures or places where they have spent a significant amount of time. Other exhibits will focus on African American history, world religions and international non-profit service organizations. The public is invited. The admission fee is $8.48, which covers the entertainment as well as all the diverse foods you want to sample. Cash and debit cards will be accepted, and group rates are available. Dinner will be served until 7 p.m., but visitors will want to come early to enjoy the full experience. “Shows will be spread out over the course of the evening, but it’s best to come at 5 p.m. if you want to see it all,” said Serenity Wright, Transylvania’s international

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Transylvania University to dedicate Athletics Complex on April 26

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University will open its arms to the neighborhood Saturday, April 26, with the dedication of its $10-million Athletics Complex. Public tours will begin at 12:30 p.m. at the 555 West Fourth Street facility and resume after the 1:30 dedication ceremony. Then, at 3, the women’s lacrosse team will take on Defiance College. The event coincides with Transylvania’s Alumni Weekend. “I consider the dedication to be like a neighborhood open house,” said Mike Vetter, special assistant to the university. The facility, which is home to the university’s field hockey, lacrosse, soccer and track and field teams, will benefit not only the college but also the surrounding community. The transformation of an old tobacco warehouse site is part of a wider revitalization effort in the area that includes the Newtown campus of Bluegrass Community and Technical College as well as new restaurants and entertainment venues along Jefferson Street. West Fourth Street recently received a facelift, going from one- to two-way traffic and getting sidewalks and bike lanes. The community will be able to use the facility for events such as clinics and tournaments. The Athletics Complex features an 860-seat grandstand, an eight-lane track, and an artificial turf field with lights for night games. The 18,000-square-foot field house has locker and conference rooms, coaches’ offices, public restrooms, a sports medicine facility, concessions and a ticket booth. The university’s teams began playing on the field this past October while construction continued on

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Time travel never sounded so good; local faculty perform classical concerts

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

  Joanna Manring Dominique Bellon Thomas Couvillon LEXINGTON, Ky.—Can you name the four periods of classical music? Music faculty from Transylvania University and Eastern Kentucky University present “Bach to Now,” a melodic journey through 400 years of classical music, broadly defined by four eras: Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Contemporary. Organized by Transylvania University pianist Loren Tice and music faculty member and soprano Joanna Manring, together with Eastern Kentucky University oboist Dominique Bellon and composer and baritone Thomas Couvillon, the classical concert will be performed on April 24 at Transylvania University and on April 30 at Eastern Kentucky University. Both performances are free and open to the public. Couvillon and Manring are veterans of Musick’s Company, the Lexington-based early music group directed by Tice, which presents authentic performances of early music (medieval through baroque eras) to central Kentucky audiences. Bellon teaches Literature and Performance Practice of Baroque Music and coaches Baroque chamber ensembles at EKU. She was an active performer in the Montreal region before moving to Kentucky this past fall and holds a doctorate in oboe performance from Arizona State University. The program includes two movements from Bach cantatas, a Mozart concert aria arranged for oboe and piano, “Three Romances” by Robert Schumann, and compositions by Thomas Couvillon and Transylvania music professor Timothy Polashek. EKU faculty cellist, Nathan Jasinski, will join in to provide the continuo bass line for the Bach cantata movements. If you go— Thursday, April 24, 7:30

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College Learning and the Digital Age

Posted on by President Seamus Carey

The following originally appeared in The Huffington Post. For anyone who has fallen out of good physical condition after having been physically fit, the thought of getting back into shape can be a constantly nagging refrain. In response, we sometimes set goals and deadlines but they rarely get us going. Looking for a spark, we might buy some new workout clothes, or sneakers, or download some new music promising ourselves that the tunes will motivate us. But something more fundamental than the external trimmings has to change to go from a sedentary life to a consistently active life. This change requires an existential shift and just what causes such a shift can be difficult to identify. At a recent faculty meeting to discuss a digital learning initiative we call SHUsquare, the conversation led me to think of digital tools and outlets for college learning as analogous to the clothes, music and goals of the person who merely thinks about getting in shape. I say that as the person who initiated SHUsquare, a virtual public square that brings together the ideals of the agora in Ancient Greece with 21st-century technology to create a platform for students to participate in their community guided by intellectual ideas and content. As a complement to our first-year writing seminars, SHUsquare extends conversations beyond classrooms so that students can interact across the campus and beyond.

Transylvania to remember Rwandan genocide

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—As part of its growing international engagement, Transylvania University plans to mark the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide Friday, April 11. The school, which has four students from the central African country, will remember the atrocity with a candle lighting ceremony, poetry readings, coffee, tea, food and a musical performance by the Dreamin’ Rovers, who will debut a new song based on hope and renewal. Because many college-age students weren’t even born in 1994 when the genocide killed 800,000 to a million people, this will be an educational opportunity. The wider community is welcome to attend the event, which begins at 9 p.m. in Back Circle, the grassy courtyard off West Fourth Street. Lexington has a larger Rwandan community than many people would expect, said Serenity Wright, international student services coordinator. “It’s important to recognize what brought these residents here and let them know they’re respected members of our community,” she said. Rwandan students from Transylvania, the University of Kentucky and Bluegrass Community & Technical College will speak at the event about the future of Rwanda, how they see their role in continuing to develop the country, and what their hopes, dreams and goals are. The theme for the event, which is being celebrated around the world, is “Remember, Unite and Renew.” Everyone is encouraged to wear gray the week leading up to the event to mark the anniversary. Those who come out to the Transylvania event are

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