1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

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Three Transylvania students awarded prestigious Transylvania Scholarship

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Three current Transylvania University students have been named Transylvania Scholars. This prestigious scholarship is awarded annually to rising junior and senior students who have achieved outstanding academic records and have made significant service contributions to Transylvania. This scholarship covers tuition and the general fee. The recipients are chosen by a panel of faculty members who interview each applicant. “These are students whose academic and campus community accomplishments are impeccable,” said William F. Pollard, vice president and dean of the college. “Being named a Transylvania Scholar is an extraordinary achievement given the credentials of the finalists, all of whom have outstanding records of academic success and of contributions to the life of the campus.” Rising junior Robert Clark Puckett, a political science major, is from Murray, Ky. Rising junior Sarah Elizabeth Tipton, an English major and classics minor, is from Corbin, Ky. Rising senior Thomas Philip Stephens, a history major, is from Decherd, Tenn. Transylvania, founded in 1780, is the nation’s sixteenth oldest institution of higher learning and is consistently ranked in national publications as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country.

Transylvania University earns national ranking in “Top 100 Social Media Schools” list; scores in top 3.3 percent of over 9 million Twitter accounts

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University has been named one of the “Top 100 Social Media Colleges” in the country, a list that includes more than 6,000 colleges and universities. To determine its rankings, StudentAdvisor.com looked at schools in terms of how active and effective they are at engaging their audiences on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, iTunes and other social media tools. One of the criteria the site uses in its rankings is enrollment, and it judges the effectiveness based on how many people it is reaching. Transylvania’s enrollment is 1,110, and it has over 3,600 fans on its main Facebook page and over 1,100 followers on its main Twitter account. The Office of Communications manages the main university social media accounts listed in the ranking (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube). “We are very excited to be considered among the social media elite like Harvard, Stanford, Notre Dame and Princeton,” said Sarah Emmons, associate vice president for communications and public relations. “Social media is a powerful way to connect and interact with our constituents and the outside world. Facebook and Twitter, especially, have become important communications platforms for us.” Also included in the “Top 100” ranking is an institution’s score from TwitterGrader.com, which grades the power and reach of any Twitter account based on a number of factors. Transylvania’s Twitter account scores a 96.8 on a 100-point scale and ranks in the top 3.3 percent of over nine million accounts. “Transy has tactfully mastered the art

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Transylvania University and the Carnegie Center sign partnership agreement

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O’Brien and Williams sign the agreement in the board room of Old Morrison. LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University President R. Owen Williams and President of the Board of Directors of the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning Eileen M. O’Brien signed an agreement today to explore the possibility of a significant partnership. “Our goal is for both Transylvania and the Carnegie Center to work together to better enhance our commitment to lifetime learning,” said Williams. The yearlong commitment begins July 1, 2011. During this time, the Carnegie Center and Transylvania will each share space with the other for programs, concerts, lectures, receptions and similar events, will expand or modify current programs at the Carnegie Center and will formalize and expand service learning and volunteer support. “We are excited to have this collaborative effort with Transylvania formally acknowledged,” said O’Brien. “Both organizations have demonstrated such a tremendous commitment to lifetime learning and the literary arts, which bodes well for our future.” Transylvania has a long history of its students volunteering in various capacities at the Carnegie Center. “We believe we can do more than what we’ve been doing and are excited about the possibility of making the Carnegie Center even stronger,” said Williams.  “This is a win-win agreement.”

R. Owen Williams inaugurated as Transylvania University’s 25th president

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—R. Owen Williams was inaugurated as Transylvania University’s 25th president on the steps of historic Old Morrison this morning. Before an audience of students, faculty, staff, alumni, trustees and guests, including Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and Lexington Mayor Jim Gray, Williams was presented with the presidential medallion and the university’s mace. In his inaugural address, “Question Everything, Accomplish Anything,” Williams invoked Transylvania’s history as a “lamp in the forest” in the early days of the American republic. Reflecting on the meaning of Transylvania’s liberal arts philosophy, Williams stated that the liberal arts could be better called “the liberating arts,” because “they liberate us from the limits of our own experience, from prejudice, ideology and impetuousness, but most of all, from the inclination toward hubris instead of analysis.” Williams challenged students to ask questions and have big ambitions. “Dare to change your surroundings,” he said. “Embrace the world’s ailments as your opportunities. Transylvania will help you find your passion, but to be successful, you must clothe that passion with perseverance.” Gray and Beshear expressed their optimism about Williams and the university’s future. “In the nine months he’s been president,” Beshear said in his remarks, “he’s made it very clear that his mind is focused in a laser-like fashion on not only what Transylvania has been, but on what it can be in the future.” Gray stated that Transylvania “represents the best of [Lexington’s] purpose and promise.” David W. Blight, professor

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Civil War film starring Academy Award winner to be screened at Transylvania Friday, April 29; director to give presentation; free and open to the public

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Hollywood writer and director Robby Henson will screen “Pharaoh’s Army,” Friday, April 29, at 2:30 p.m. in Transylvania University’s Cowgill Center. The Civil War film stars Academy Award winner Chris Cooper as Union Army Captain John Hull Abston and Academy Award nominees Patricia Clarkson and Kris Kirstofferson. Henson wrote and directed the film, which chronicles a Yankee raiding party’s confrontation with a Confederate mountain woman and her son in Kentucky. Shot on location near Danville, Ky., and in the Red River Gorge, the film focuses on the region’s unique divisions during the Civil War and is based on true events from 1862. In his presentation following the screening, Henson, originally from Danville, will speak about how oral history transitions into film. The event is part of the celebration of the inauguration of R. Owen Williams as Transylvania’s 25th president and is free and open to the public.