1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

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Transylvania’s Creative Intelligence Series offers community members a free glimpse into a liberal arts education

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Central Kentucky residents looking for an affordable way to continue their educations might find the Transylvania University campus a great place to start. Throughout the academic year, the university’s Creative Intelligence Series offers lectures, art exhibitions, performances, presentations by young academics whose work has had an exceptional influence on their disciplines, and lectures by individuals who have applied their creativity to solving social problems and enriching their communities. All events are free and open to the public. The events offer a broad representation of creative work across a wide variety of disciplines. Local residents can invest an hour at a time once or twice a month and possibly discover a new interest or an opportunity for further research or social action. It’s a simple way to get a feel for the type of education endorsed by Transylvania and other similar colleges: A liberal arts education encourages you to draw connections between disparate fields of study, examine new ideas and concepts, and challenge underlying assumptions. Meg Upchurch, Transylvania professor of psychology and coordinator of the Creative Intelligence Series, explains: “Presenters are asked to talk about the process of their work, not just the products of it. One goal of the series is to help students become aware that creative, engaged problem solving can occur in a variety of disciplines and contexts. The series also seeks to bring diverse viewpoints and activities to campus.” The Creative Intelligence Series had its genesis three

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Transylvania named a 2014 Best Private College by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University has once again been cited as one of the country’s best values among private colleges, according to a list published by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. The ratings are based on academic quality and affordability. Transylvania moved up four places from last year’s ranking to 59th. Transylvania and the other schools included in the list provide high-quality academics at a reasonable cost. They exemplify the attributes parents and students look for in higher education, including small class sizes, a good first-year retention rate and a high four-year graduation rate. View the full list of schools at www.kiplinger.com/links/college. “Our rankings serve as a resource to help students and families make more informed choices,” said Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. “Combining a high-quality education with an affordable price tag is a challenge, but the colleges on this year’s list offer the best of both worlds.” Although private schools generally carry higher sticker prices than public schools, more generous scholarship and financial aid packages as well as a commitment to four-year graduation often make the out-of-pocket costs at private colleges very competitive with public universities. “You should expect a positive return on your college investment,” said Brad Goan, Transylvania’s vice president for enrollment and dean of admissions.  “Transylvania students, graduates and their families know an investment in Transylvania pays them back over and over again. “There is great value in the outstanding scholarship and financial aid packages we award

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Community invited to help Transylvania live up to its name this Halloween

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LEXINGTON Ky.—What better place for a spooky jack-o’-lantern extravaganza than Transylvania? This year, Fayette County elementary school classes are invited to participate in the university’s Pumpkinmania Halloween celebration. The students will compete in a pumpkin carving contest that will transform the steps of historic Old Morrison into a frightfully awesome Halloween display. The university also will have trick-or-treating for the public on Oct. 28, the night of the pumpkin lighting. Everyone is invited to drive or walk by campus to see the display until Oct. 31. “Transylvania should be associated with Halloween like fireworks on the Fourth of July,” said Jeff Mudrak, human resources director. “It has one of the coolest names in higher education.” Not only will schoolchildren get to say they celebrated the holiday at you-know-where, but they’ll also see their jack-o’-lanterns glow alongside hundreds of others. “The best thing about it is to be able to look up and find your pumpkin and see how it fits in with the rest,” Office Services Coordinator Eric Ramsey said. “It’s just fun.” Some pumpkins from previous years included ones the university’s Department of Public Safety made to look like their safety officers; another participant carved Old Morrison’s façade. “We encourage people to be as creative as possible,” Ramsey said. Participating classes earn a chance to win a pizza party and $50 in educational supplies. Also, the school that provides the most carved pumpkins will receive special recognition. When entering

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Transylvania’s newest art exhibition connects Lexington’s vibrant gay history and current LGBTQ* community

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—“I’ll Be Your Mirror,” Morlan Gallery’s exhibition opening Oct. 25, reveals Lexington’s historically rich, vibrant and fairly secretive gay culture. Referencing the well-known Velvet Underground song, “I’ll Be Your Mirror” depicts the story of the town’s drag queens, sexual outlaws and gender-bending guerilla artists from the turn of the twentieth century right up to present day through the work of contemporary visual artists. “I’ll Be Your Mirror” was curated by Lexington-based artist Robert Morgan, who as a child of the 1960s met people who had identified as gay in the early part of the twentieth century. “I was mesmerized by the tales from their lives and was given loving advice and guidance as I began my life’s adventure as a gay kid from Kentucky on his way into a new century,” explained Morgan. The exhibition explores the flamboyant local lore of days gone by, including ghost stories from the Thomas January House on Lexington’s West Second Street; cross-dressing civil war hero Sue Mundy who, at John Hunt Morgan’s death, took over Morgan’s Raiders and became a legend; and images of the colorful and much loved Sweet Evening Breeze, Lexington’s 1950s version of RuPaul. In “I’ll Be Your Mirror,” Morgan creates a nexus between the historical gay Old South of the twentieth century and the political activism of the twenty-first century. The show celebrates the rebirth of the gay community with young visual artists who have a new way of

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Transylvania welcomes British archaeologist for talk about our love of music

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Why do people in all cultures sing or play instruments? And why do humans have a special capacity to make and enjoy music? Steven Mithen, professor of early prehistory and pro-vice-chancellor at the University of Reading in England, will offer his theories on these questions during a lecture at Transylvania University on Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7:30 p.m. in Carrick Theater. The lecture is sponsored by the Bingham-Young Fellowship Program and Transylvania’s Creative Intelligence Lecture Series. It’s free and open to the public. The subject of Mithen’s lecture, “The Music Instinct: The Evolutionary Basis of Musicality,” is drawn from his life-long research into early prehistoric communities and the evolution of human intelligence, language and music. His research includes long-term field projects in western Scotland (Mesolithic) and southern Jordan (early Neolithic). In 2005 he wrote “The Singing Neanderthals,” one of several books he has authored on the creative and cognitive life of early man. Having originally studied fine art at the Slade School, he completed a B.A. in prehistory and archaeology at Sheffield University, an M.S. in biological computation from York University and a Ph.D. in archaeology from Cambridge University, where he taught prior to moving to the University of Reading in 1992. For more information about the Bingham lecture, contact music professor Ben Hawkins at bhawkins@transy.edu or 859-233-8259.