1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

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McComas to bike across country, build affordable housing

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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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Transylvania celebrates National Bike Month

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University will participate in National Bike to Work Day May 18, when Transylvania community members are invited to meet at Shriner’s Hospital on Richmond Road and bike in together, or arrive on their own and join in a light breakfast in front of Old Morrison provided by Transylvania’s Wellness Works committee. The university will host two other events to celebrate National Bike Month. The Transylvania sustainability office will offer a bike safety and maintenance workshop on Monday, May 7, at 3 p.m. in the William T. Young Campus Center for faculty, staff and students. Michael Galbraith, an instructor certified by the League of American Bicyclists, will give a talk about bike safety. Transylvania’s bike program managers and a bike mechanic will help participants get their bikes ready for the biking season and teach basic bike maintenance skills. The labor and instruction are free, and parts will be available for sale. A painting party and ribbon cutting for Transylvania’s first bike shelter, located behind Forrer Residence Hall, will be held Thursday, May 17, at 3 p.m. The sustainability office will provide paint and brushes to paint the shelter. Snacks, including smoothies blended by the smoothie bike, will be available, and Radio TLX, Transylvania’s student radio station, will provide music. Last year, Transylvania faculty, staff and students celebrated National Bike to Work Day by riding to campus with President R. Owen Williams from his home, about three miles away. Several

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Juried student exhibition runs May 4-18 in Transylvania’s Morlan Gallery

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—The Juried Student Exhibition runs May 4-18 in Transylvania’s Morlan Gallery.  All students who made art during the 2011-12 academic year were invited to show their work in the exhibition. There are about 50 pieces, from 30 artists, on display. At a public reception honoring the artists on Friday, May 4, several jurors’ awards were presented, including the Dean’s Purchase Award and the Lampton Prize. Each year, William F. Pollard, vice president and dean of the college, selects one piece to receive the Dean’s Purchase Award and become part of Transylvania’s permanent collection. The Lampton Prize is named in honor of artist Nana Lampton and given to a student of exceptional creative vision, a fierce work ethic and natural leadership. Junior Hunter Kissel, from Louisville, Ky., received the Dean’s Purchase Award for his oil painting, 3. Senior Ryla Luttrell, from Shepherdsville, Ky., received the Lampton Prize. Other awards went to: Printmaking: senior Julia Sebastian, from Nicholasville, Ky. Sculpture: senior Katelynn Ralston, from Winter Haven, Fla. Ceramics: senior Lauren Hatchett, from Henderson, Ky. Video: junior Paul Brown, from Owensboro, Ky., and sophomore Zach Stanley, from Prestonsburg, Ky. Sophomore Raelyn Nickerson, from Springfield, Ohio, received honorable mention in sculpture. Senior Sara Escobedo, from Wheaton, Ill., received honorable mention for ceramic sculpture. Morlan Gallery is open weekdays, noon to 5 p.m., and the exhibit is free and open to the public. For more information go to www.transy.edu/morlan or contact Morlan Gallery Director

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A.B. “Happy” Chandler tops list of Pioneer Hall of Fame inductees

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A.B. “Happy” Chandler, Class of 1921 LEXINGTON, Ky.—Former Kentucky governor and baseball commissioner A B. “Happy” Chandler and basketball star Orbrey Gritton top a list of seven new inductees into Transylvania University’s Pioneer Hall of Fame. The 2012 class was inducted on April 27, following a reception and dinner. The latest additions bring the total number of Pioneer Hall of Fame members to 102, plus one team, since inductions began in 1992. The newest members include Chandler, a 1921 graduate who played baseball, football, and basketball at Transylvania prior to a long career in politics; Gritton, a 1989 graduate who ranks 13th on the all-time men’s basketball scoring list and was district player of the year and an NAIA All-American as a senior; and Mark Turner, a 1977 graduate who retired as the winningest coach in the history of the women’s basketball program. Also entering the Hall of Fame this year are swimming All-American Jay Ecleberry, a member of the Class of 1992 who still holds two school records; tennis standouts Elizabeth Boyd Fryar ’81 and Andrea Barton Lane ’90, both of whom starred on regional championship teams; and Emily Veeneman ’96, a field hockey and softball player who holds the field hockey records for most goals in a game, in a season and for a career. The Pioneer Hall of Fame was founded by the school’s alumni office and the athletics and physical education department to recognize former athletes,

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Polashek’s compositions to be performed by gEARbox Ensemble April 28 at Land of Tomorrow Gallery

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Tim Polashek LEXINGTON, Ky.—Contemporary music composed by Transylvania University music professor Timothy Polashek will be performed Saturday, April 28, at 7:30 p.m. at Land of Tomorrow Gallery, 527 East Third St., Lexington. Admission is free, but donations will be accepted. The concert will feature Polashek’s “Engravings for Prepared Snare Drum, iPad, and Computer” and “Echoes of Steel: Electro-Acoustic Music for Drum Set”—both performed by percussionist Brad Meyer—and “Micro-Coastings: Electro-Acoustic Music and Video.” Polashek and Meyer are founders of the gEARbox Ensemble, which performs contemporary acoustic, electro-acoustic and electronic music and commissions and premieres works by established and emerging composers. Micro-Coastings is Polashek’s first extensive use of video in a composition. “The video camera, like the microphone during the recording of my sound sources, was positioned to frame objects more closely in order to capture things expressively,” he said. “All the sounds and video were taken from in and around my family’s home in Lexington.” Polashek writes in a variety of media and styles including vocal, instrumental and electro-acoustic music, text/sound compositions and interactive performance. His work has been performed all over the world, and he directed the Studio 300 Digital Art and Music Festival at Transylvania, which was held in September 2011 and featured more than 60 works and exhibitions by artists and musicians from eight countries. Land of Tomorrow Gallery facilitates the making and showing of experimental works of art, design, and music. For more information, visit www.landoftomorrow.org.