1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

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Deana Ison named executive assistant to incoming president

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Deana Ison has been named executive assistant to incoming president, R. Owen Williams.   Ison, a 1995 graduate of Transylvania, is currently senior associate director of admissions and has held the positions of admissions counselor, assistant director, associate director and interim director in her 15 years at Transy. In addition, she served as the William T. Young Scholarship coordinator for eight years. “Deana’s new role will touch on many important areas of the university,” said Williams. “She has been very successful in Transylvania’s admissions efforts and will bring her incredible work ethic to my office. She will not only be a great liaison but will contribute to the management and administrative process as well.” “I am honored to have such an incredible opportunity to serve my alma mater and our incoming president,” said Ison, who will officially join the Office of the President August 1, when Williams assumes the presidency. She will continue her role in the admissions office and will work closely with the transition team until that time. Ison is a member of the Kentucky Association of College Admission Counseling, the National Association of College Admission Counseling, the Southern Association of College Admission Counseling and the Southern Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers. She has presented sessions at professional conferences and has served on various panels at high schools across the state regarding college admissions. She was awarded the Les Grigsby Award as Kentucky’s Outstanding Admissions Professional

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2010 Governor’s School for the Arts session opens June 20

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Some 225 of Kentucky’s best young artists from 46 counties will assemble on Transylvania’s campus on Sunday, June 20, to begin the three-week 2010 session of the Governor’s School for the Arts. The latest GSA class is comprised of rising juniors and seniors from all regions of the Commonwealth who will receive top-level training through daily seminars, master classes, lectures, hands-on workshops and field trips to various arts attractions in central Kentucky. The student-artists will receive instruction in a total of nine areas. Those disciplines are architecture, creative writing, dance, drama, instrumental music, musical theatre, new media, visual arts and vocal music. Over 4,200 of the state’s most talented high school artists from all 120 counties have attended the 23-year-old GSA summer program following a rigorous selection process. Each year since the program’s inception in 1987, over 1,500 students have applied annually for one of the available scholarships, valued at more than $3,000. Currently, 18 colleges and universities, including Transylvania, offer scholarships to GSA alumni. The program will culminate on Saturday, July 10, with an all-day festival at Transy that celebrates the achievements of the young artists through performances that are open to family, friends and the public. Graduation ceremonies are held at approximately 5 p.m. Transylvania and Lexington have hosted the GSA program annually since 2000 and recently announced an agreement to keep the program on campus at least through 2011. “The presence of the Governor’s School for

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Transylvania and the city of Lexington invite the public to annual patriotic concert Friday, July 2, at 8 p.m.

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University and the city of Lexington once again invite the public to the city’s annual patriotic concert on the steps of Transylvania’s historic Old Morrison on Friday, July 2, at 8 p.m. The annual concert features new tunes and old favorites from the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra and the Lexington Singers. The concert is free and open to the public and draws upwards of 5,000 people who set out their blankets and picnics from the front lawn of Old Morrison to the Carnegie Center in Gratz Park. The concert is sponsored by PNC Bank, Saint Joseph Health System and Hilliard Lyons. The Young at Heart Dixieland Jazz Band will perform in Gratz Park prior to the concert, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Handicapped accessible parking will be available in the semi-circle driveway on Broadway between Third and Fourth streets. For more information, contact the public relations office at (859) 233-8120 or Penny Ebel in the mayor’s office at (859) 258-3130.

Transylvania awards 240 degrees at Shearer’s final commencement as president

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The class of 2010 gathers on the Beck Center steps for the class photo prior to the commencement ceremony on the lawn of Old Morrison. LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University awarded bachelor of arts degrees to 240 seniors on Saturday in the final commencement ceremony for President Charles L. Shearer, who will retire from the presidency at the end of July after a 27-year tenure in the office. A crowd of friends and family, faculty and trustees looked on from the lawn of Old Morrison as Shearer conferred the diplomas. In delivering the commencement address, he made a point of combining his feelings at leaving office with his devotion to Transy students throughout his tenure, and especially to the class of 2010. “What has given me the greatest joy over the years has simply been knowing students,” Shearer said. “Because I am departing from the presidency, I feel as though I am part of the class of 2010 and that we are graduating together. I am confident that Transylvania has prepared you well to go out in the world and make a difference.” Shearer came to Transylvania in 1979 as vice president for finance and was appointed president in 1983. His 27 years of service is the longest tenure of any president in the history of Kentucky’s oldest college, founded in 1780 as the 16h college in the nation and the first west of the Allegheny Mountains. As he concluded his remarks,

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Transylvania publications receive awards

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Three Transylvania University publications were honored at the Public Relations Society of America-Thoroughbred Chapter awards ceremony in May. “Transylvania” magazine and a “Transylvania Treasures” postcard packet received first place awards, while “Transylvania Treasures,” a publication that highlights items in the university’s Special Collections and Moosnick Medical and Science Museum, received second place. PRSA is the world’s largest organization for public relations professionals. This is the second award for “Transylvania Treasures” postcards this year. In January, they received an award of special merit in a competition sponsored by District III of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. These awards were chosen from more than 700 entries submitted by colleges in nine states in the southeast U.S. The unique postcard package replicates the front covers of the first five issues of “Transylvania Treasures” and was mailed with the summer 2009 issue. They are the work of Transylvania publications director Martha Baker of Paris and Carin Lovell of By Design, Lexington.   “Transylvania” magazine is produced three times a year by the university’s publications staff, which included Baker, writer/editor William Bowden, graphic designer Barbara Grinnell and editorial assistant Lori-Lyn Hurley, all of Lexington. “These awards confirm that our publications compare favorably to work produced by business, industry, professional associations, nonprofit organizations, government agencies and consulting firms,” said Sarah Emmons, Transylvania public relations director. “I’m very proud of them.” Transylvania, founded in 1780, is the nation’s sixteenth oldest institution of higher

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