1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

Archives

Transylvania University hires director of campus diversity and inclusion to help expand its commitment to diversity

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Eduardo Nino-Moreno has been named director of campus diversity and inclusion at Transylvania University. The new position was created to help expand Transylvania’s commitment to diversity, and Nino-Moreno will report directly to President R. Owen Williams, who has made diversity a priority for Transylvania’s campus. “We are very excited to add Eduardo to our team at Transylvania,” Williams said. “A liberal arts community is one that tackles issues from a variety of angles and viewpoints, and the more diverse campus we will become under his leadership will help our students become the global thinkers they strive to be.” Nino-Moreno comes to Transylvania with more than 30 years of experience in international education, recruitment and fundraising. He spent over two decades with the United Nations stationed throughout Central and South America, Asia and Africa planning human development programs, leading diverse professional teams and managing U.N. resources. He holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.A. from Cornell University. As director, Nino-Moreno will develop and implement a variety of positive, proactive initiatives that support an integrated approach to diversity and inclusivity in all aspects of university life, including a strategic plan for diversity. In addition to increasing the number of students from underrepresented demographics, he will work to augment programs and events on campus that demonstrate the importance of diversity in education, and he  will help Transylvania connect with the Lexington community to promote diversity. He will work closely with

Read “Transylvania University hires director of campus diversity and inclusion to help expand its commitment to diversity”

Legendary Canadian Brass to play at Transylvania University Wednesday, September 21; free tickets while they last

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—The internationally acclaimed Canadian Brass will perform a concert in Haggin Auditorium on Wednesday, September 21, at 7:30 p.m. as part of the Dorothy J. and Fred K. Smith Endowed Concert Series. With a discography of over 90 albums and an extensive worldwide touring schedule, Canadian Brass is a pioneer in bringing brass music to audiences everywhere. Members of the famed quintet are renowned for their dazzling virtuosity and freewheeling performance style. The group helped to transform a previously undervalued group of instruments with a limited repertoire into a versatile ensemble proficient in everything including renaissance and baroque masters, classical works, marches, holiday favorites, ragtime, Dixieland, jazz, big band, Broadway and Christian music, as well as popular songs and standards. They are especially known for their Christmas concerts and for helping reestablish Scott Joplin with modern audiences through their research, arrangements, and recordings of his rags and other works. Canadian Brass was the first brass group from the west to play in China and the first to take the stage in Carnegie Hall. They have performed in Australia, the Middle East, the former Soviet Union and South America. They have appeared on “The Tonight Show,” “Today,” “Entertainment Tonight,” “Sesame Street” and numerous PBS programs. Members of the famed quintet are Chuck Daellenbach (tuba), Christopher Coletti and Brandon Ridenour (trumpets), Achilles Liarmakopoulos (trombone) and Eric Reed (horn).  In addition to the performance, the group’s members will present a workshop for

Read “Legendary Canadian Brass to play at Transylvania University Wednesday, September 21; free tickets while they last”

Transylvania to host digital art and music festival Sept. 16 and 17; international, national, regional and local artists and musicians will participate; free and open to the public

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University is hosting the Studio 300 Digital Art and Music Festival, Kentucky’s first such festival, on Sept. 16 and 17. The festival, which gets its name from Transylvania’s 300 North Broadway address, explores creative manifestations of technology through concerts and exhibitions of digital art and music. Over two days, Studio 300 will feature over 30 different stage performances and offer 33 art installations, interactive pieces and video/sound works by artists and musicians from around the world. All events are free and open to the public. Timothy Polashek, Transylvania music professor and Studio 300 director, writes in a variety of media and styles, including vocal, instrumental, electro-acoustic music, text/sound compositions and interactive performance systems. His music has been performed throughout the United States and abroad. “As a composer of computer music, I’m always looking for innovative ways to use and develop technologies for artistic purposes,” Polashek said.  “I have had the privilege of participating in many national and international festivals of digital and interactive arts, and they’re simply a lot of fun, and the public is really curious about these things, especially interactive works and multimedia works. “Lexington is a great city with a vibrant arts scene, but there are not yet many groups working with technology. Transylvania has a long history of fostering innovations over the centuries, so it’s natural that we invite these pioneering musicians, artists and technologists to campus.” Polashek hopes to expand the festival into

Read “Transylvania to host digital art and music festival Sept. 16 and 17; international, national, regional and local artists and musicians will participate; free and open to the public”

Transylvania named a Great College to Work For by the Chronicle of Higher Education

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University was recently named a Great College to Work For by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The ranking is based on survey responses from nearly 44,000 people at 310 institutions. Transylvania is among the 111 colleges across the country to be named to the final list, each having received recognition in at least one of 12 categories. The response rate to the surveys was 40 percent nationwide, but Transylvania’s response rate was 60 percent. The assessment process had two components: a questionnaire about institutional characteristics and a faculty/staff questionnaire about individuals’ evaluations of their institutions. The 12 categories of recognition included collaborative governance, professional/career development programs, compensation and benefits, job satisfaction, work/life balance and supervisor/department chair relationship. Transylvania was recognized in the supervisor/department chair relationship category. “I was extremely pleased to learn that Transylvania was recognized as a great place to work in our first year of participation,” said Jeff Mudrak, director of human resources. “We excelled in many areas and received recognition in one area, department chair/supervisor relationships.” Mudrak said that with a record number of schools competing for recognition, making the list was no small feat.  “Moving forward, we will continue to build on our strengths and make improvements in other areas with the goal of being recognized as an honor roll institution next year,” he said. “I firmly believe that providing a great place to work undoubtedly contributes to making Transylvania University a great place

Read “Transylvania named a Great College to Work For by the Chronicle of Higher Education”

“The Role of the Speaker of the House: A Tribute to Henry Clay” premieres on KET August 16; runs through August 21

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Current Speaker of the United States House of Representatives John Boehner, R-Ohio, former speaker and current House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and former Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., honor Henry Clay with discussion on the history and role of the Speaker of the House in this one-hour program.  John Harwood, CNBC chief Washington correspondent and New York Times political writer, moderated the discussion that drew a capacity audience to Transylvania University this summer. The Michael Breeding Media film “The Role of the Speaker of the House: A Tribute to Henry Clay” will air on Kentucky Educational Television (KET) on the following dates: Tuesday, August 16, 9 p.m. (KET) Wednesday, August 17, 11 a.m. (KETKY) Thursday, August 18, 11 p.m. (KETKY) Friday, August 19, 4 a.m. (KET) and 8 p.m. (KETKY) Saturday, August 20, 9 a.m. (KETKY) Sunday, August 21, 7 p.m. (KETKY) and 9 p.m. (KET2) Each of the panelists pays tribute to the legacy of Clay and discusses his or her experience as Speaker during sharply differing eras of the political life of the country and under different presidents. Pointing to Clay’s enormous influence on the national political scene from the 1820s to the late 1840s when forces were at work that eventually led to civil war, Boehner says, “No one person in the United States was more responsible for holding the Union together during that time than Henry Clay. He has been a role model for me.”

Read ““The Role of the Speaker of the House: A Tribute to Henry Clay” premieres on KET August 16; runs through August 21”