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Transylvania speech and debate team wins numerous awards at Kentucky Forensics Association State Championship

Posted on March 8, 2012July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania’s speech and debate team walked away from the recent Kentucky Forensics Association State Championship with numerous awards. The team was named state small school champion in individual events and placed third overall in the combined speech and debate division and second among small schools in debate. In the debate competition, Bryan Dickman, of Williamsburg, Ky., and Ian Smith, of Lawrenceburg, Ky., were quarter-finalists and Smith also placed first in the open speaker category. In the novice speaker category, Taylor Deaton, of Richmond, Ky., placed second, Rebecca Radcliffe, of Lawrenceburg, Ky., placed fourth and Weylin Gilbert, of Russellville, Ky., placed eighth. The results for the individual events were: Radio broadcasting: Deaton placed first and top novice, Smith placed second and Radcliffe placed fourth. Editorial impromptu: Radcliffe was top novice and Smith placed third. Impromptu speaking: Deaton placed fourth and was top novice and Dickman placed sixth. Extemporaneous speaking: Dickman placed sixth, Taylor placed seventh and was top novice, Radcliffe placed eighth and Smith placed ninth. Finally, Deaton placed sixth and was top novice in the quadrathon, the top performers in the individual part of the tournament who were entered in four or more individual events. The team is coached by writing, rhetoric and communication instructor Gary Deaton and director of debate Clint Jones ’05. Raven Mineo ’11 and Leigh Ann Jordan ‘94 serve as alumni coaches.

“The Long Death of Environmentalism” is topic of Transylvania’s Kenan Lecture, Wed., March 7; free and open to the public

Posted on February 28, 2012July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, KY.—Ted Nordhaus, cofounder and chairman of the Breakthrough Institute, will give a talk titled “The Long Death of Environmentalism,” at Transylvania University on Wednesday, March 7, at 7:30 p.m. The lecture, in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center’s Haggin Auditorium, is free and open to the public. The Breakthrough Institute was founded by Nordhaus and president Michael Shellenberger in 2003 to “modernize liberal-progressive-green politics,” according to the website. Nordhaus and Shellenberger are the authors of the book “Break Through: Why We Can’t Leave Saving the Planet to Environmentalists,” and the essay “The Death of Environmentalism: Global Warming in a Post Environmental World,” which triggered a national debate about the future of environmentalism. “Break Through” was called “prescient” by Time and “the most important thing to happen to environmentalism since ‘Silent Spring’” by Wired. Nordhaus has been profiled in the New York Times, Wired, the National Review, The New Republic and on NPR. In 2007, he and Shellenberger received the Green Book Award and Time’s 2008 “Heroes of the Environment” award.  This lecture is part of Transylvania’s William R. Kenan Jr. Lecture Series and is funded by a grant from the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust. For more information, contact the public relations office at (859) 233-8120.

Transylvania University names Kathleen S. Jagger interim vice president and dean of the college, effective August 1, 2012

Posted on February 23, 2012July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—President R. Owen Williams announced today that he has appointed Associate Vice President and Associate Dean of the College Kathleen Jagger interim vice president and dean of the college, effective August 1, 2012. William Pollard, who has held the position since 2004, will step down on July 31. He will remain professor of English. “Kathleen is an exceptional individual on many levels, and I look forward to working with her on a broader spectrum of issues,” Williams said. “I am deeply grateful to her for agreeing to serve in this important capacity.” Jagger joined the faculty in 2002 as professor of biology and is currently associate vice president and associate dean of the college. “I am honored to have the opportunity to serve Transylvania in a new capacity and continue some of the initiatives Dean Pollard began such as increasing our interdisciplinary majors and minors, enriching the breadth of the curriculum with additions such as Chinese language study and developing the enhanced First Year Student Experience,” Jagger said. “It will be a marvelous opportunity to support our students, my colleagues on the faculty and the administration as we collaborate to move the college forward.” Jagger’s major responsibilities have been in mentoring, advising, retention, diversity and coordinating academic support services. She implemented a first-year community book project, facilitated the formation of a first-year academic honorary and designed the QuickStart preorientation program. Jagger is vice chair of the university’s Quality Enhancement

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Transylvania’s vice president and dean of the college to step down

Posted on February 22, 2012July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—President R. Owen Williams announced today that William F. Pollard, vice president and dean of the college and professor of English, is stepping down as vice president and dean of the college, effective July 31, 2012. After a one-year sabbatical, Pollard will return to teaching as professor of English on the Transylvania faculty. “Bill has been a valued colleague from the very beginning of my presidency,” Williams said. “While I will miss working with him as dean, I am delighted he will remain at Transylvania as a senior member of the faculty.” Pollard’s areas of scholarship are English, medieval English literature and medieval theology. He has written numerous papers, essays and reviews while giving presentations at conferences in the U.S. and England. At Transylvania, Pollard instituted a national faculty seminar on twenty-first century liberal education for invited professors at national liberal arts colleges, added 10 new faculty positions, several minors including Latin American and Caribbean studies and eight new majors: art history; biochemistry; educational studies; German studies; international affairs; music technology; philosophy, politics and economics (based on the Oxford PPE); and writing, rhetoric and communication. He established the First Engagements community book project and an opening convocation. “I have enjoyed my tenure as dean of the college and I am proud of all that has been achieved working in concert with faculty and staff,” Pollard said. “But I am excited about returning to the classroom and look forward to

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“La Esencia Flamenco: Dance Across Cultures” at Transylvania Feb. 29 features Flamenco Louisville performance, discussion and tapas

Posted on February 17, 2012July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

Flamenco Louisville LEXINGTON, Ky.—Flamenco Louisville, an inclusive, participatory community of dancers, musicians, teachers and aficionados, will share their passion for the Spanish dance with the Lexington community at the “La Esencia Flamenco: Dance Across Cultures” performance at Transylvania on February 29, at 7:30 p.m. in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center’s Haggin Auditorium. The performance, discussion and reception to follow are free and open to the public. In addition to the performance, there will be a discussion and exploration of this unique art expression, including remarks from Lori Rowland Houlihan, special events liaison of the office of the mayor of Lexington; Henry Berlin, professor of Spanish at Transylvania; Transylvania religion professors Paul Jones and Carole Barnsley and author Rosie Moosnick. The speakers will discuss the various cultures and religions that influenced Spain and flamenco across centuries. An informal reception will follow the performance, during which further dialogue with Houlihan, Berlin, Jones, Barnsley and Moosnick will be welcome. Authentic Spanish tapas and non-alcoholic sangria will be served at the reception. Flamenco is a system of singing, music and dance with its roots in the diverse cultures of Moorish-ruled Al-Andalus (the Iberian peninsula), now known as Spain and Portugal. The many flamenco song forms, or palos, were developed and preserved in the Gitano families and communities of Southern Spain that lived on the fringes of society. It is something that, in its purest form, takes place within the family or an intimate community.

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