1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

Transylvania breaks record with official enrollment

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania’s campus is bustling with a record enrollment of 1,153 students. The former record, set in 2005, was 1,151, and last year’s enrollment was 1,117. President Charles L. Shearer said he expects enrollment to level off at or slightly below the current level. “We are delighted that our enrollment has increased at the rate it has over the past decade,” said Shearer. “Our enrollment is at capacity.” The record enrollment is attributed to an excellent retention rate of returning students combined with a full class of new students and 14 transfer students. Of the 335 members of the Class of 2011: 44 are Kentucky Governor’s Scholars, and five attended the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts Four are National Merit Finalists; two are National Merit Semifinalists Seven percent identify themselves as racial or ethnic minorities 48 percent rank in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating class, and 76 percent rank in the top 25 percent of their class 28 were valedictorians, and 18 were salutatorians 60 percent have a high school grade point average above 3.50, and the mean GPA of the incoming class is 3.51 The ACT scores for this group are impressive with a middle 50 percent range of 23-29 “This year’s class is outstanding in every measure of academic strength,” said Shearer, “and these new students join a student body that is also academically strong. I think our enrollment record speaks very well

Transylvania’s Morlan Gallery opens 2007-08 season with Imprinted Bodies, an exhibit of visual art, poetry, documentaries and gallery talks that celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Imprinted Bodies, an exhibit of contemporary Hispanic and Latino work by a dozen artists, opens Friday, September 14 in Transylvania’s Morlan Gallery. The exhibit traces the notion of embodiment or corporality in contemporary Latino visual art, poetry and documentaries and runs through October 24, from noon-5 p.m. in the Morlan Gallery. The exhibit will also be open for the Lexington Gallery Hop Friday, September 21, from 5-8 p.m. The exhibiting artists, originally from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Haiti, Mexico, Columbia, as well as the United States, examine the interplay between immigration, illness, ethnic relations, identity and their own participation in the formation of hybrid cultures. These experiences, involving displacement, relocation, and memories of home, uncover multi-layered disruptions of identity. Artists include Ana Albertina Delgado, Arturo Alonzo Sandoval, Sonia Baez-Hernandez, Elizabeth Cerejido, Eduard Duval Carrie, Francisca Hernandez, Diane Kahlo, Connie Lloveras, Jesus Macarena-Avila, Raul Ortiz Bonilla, Diana Solis and Federico Uribe. Their work includes video, sculpture, mixed media, paintings and installation pieces. In recognition of September as Hispanic Heritage Month, the Morlan Gallery will provide a week of related programming called Project Alterity, which will provoke thought in multiple areas including politics, identity formation and roles within culture and society. Tuesday, September 18, 7-8:30 p.m., Carrick TheaterStrangers Among Us: The Plight of Immigrant Workers in Kentucky A panel discussion with Transylvania sociology professor Brian Rich about the challenges of immigrant workers in Kentucky. Question and answer session to

Carrie Newcomer, singer, songwriter and guitarist, in concert at Transylvania Wednesday, Sept. 12, free and open to the public

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Musician Carrie Newcomer will be in concert at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 12, in Transylvania’s Carrick Theater, located in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center. The concert, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by Transylvania’s Lilly Project and the Collegium of Religious Organizations. The Village Voice said of Newcomer that she “has a warm spirit, heated intelligence, burning intellect. Her voice will power through the room…glinting with musical brightness and emotional layers.” Newcomer has garnered critical acclaim in recent years from the music media (Rolling Stone, USA Today, Acoustic Guitar) and by sharing the stage with a variety of performers, including Alison Krauss, Bonnie Raitt, Rosanne Cash and Mary Chapin Carpenter. Newcomer’s album titled “Regulars and Refugees,” is a follow-up to “Betty’s Diner: the Best of Carrie Newcomer.” In “Regulars and Refugees,” 13 songs take the listener into Betty’s Diner, to learn the stories behind the different people who frequent the establishment. Her studio album “The Geography of Light” is scheduled for release February 1. Newcomer has donated proceeds from album sales and benefit concerts to a multitude of charities including The Nature Conservancy, The American Friends Service Committee and Habitat for Humanity. A portion of the proceeds from “Regulars and Refugees” album sales went to Second Harvest, a national food bank network. For more information, contact the Transylvania public relations office at (859) 233-8120.

Transylvania begins construction on new suite-style residence hall; announces name

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania President Charles L. Shearer has announced that ground is being prepared for a new suite-style residence hall off Fourth Street. “I’m delighted to announce that our new residence facility will be named Thomson Residence Hall in honor of Joe Thomson and his wife, JoAnn. Mr. Thomson is a 1966 graduate of Transylvania and a member of the Board of Trustees. Construction of the $5.5 million building, which will be located off southwest Fourth Street, will begin soon and will be completed by August 1, 2008. “I’m grateful to Joe and JoAnn,” said Shearer. “It’s gratifying when an alum steps up and makes a lead gift toward such an important project. We truly appreciate the Thomsons and all the donors, including trustees, friends and foundations that have given to this project.” Each of the 31 suites will house two students and contain a sleeping area, a living area, a kitchenette and private bath. The three-story building, with 28,000 square feet, will also house a café and large meeting room and will be heated and cooled with a geothermal HVAC system, the most energy efficient, environmentally clean system available. Shearer said that Thomson Hall will provide students with a living experience that meets contemporary expectations. “Many students desire apartment or suite-style accommodations and we’re pleased that this new residence hall represents a forward-looking approach,” he said. Transylvania currently has two residence facilities—Rosenthal Residence Complex and Poole Residence Center—that offer either

Symposium will highlight medical history of Transylvania University, Lexington, and the Ohio River Valley

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Representatives from the Smithsonian Institution and the Filson Club of Louisville will join approximately 60 physicians, historians, and teachers on Wednesday, August 8, to take part in a day-long symposium at Transylvania University focusing on the historically significant early 19th-century heritage of Transylvania’s medical school, along with that of Lexington and the Ohio River Valley. Founded in 1799 as the first medical college west of the Allegheny Mountains, the Transylvania medical department trained more than 6,400 of America’s early physicians before its closing in 1859. These doctors played an important role in spreading the practice of medicine throughout the South and Southwest as the nation expanded westward. “Transylvania’s medical school had a national presence and was spoken of in the same breath as its sister institutions at Pennsylvania, Columbia, Harvard and Dartmouth,” said Transylvania President Charles L. Shearer. “This symposium will shed light on the pioneering role the university played in early American medical education.” The symposium will have a regional character, with participants from throughout Kentucky as well as from Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee. In addition to the Smithsonian and Filson Club, the historic Locust Grove home in Louisville and the Fordham Sciences Library at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, will send representatives. Eric H. Christianson, associate professor and director of graduate studies in history and holder of a joint appointment in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Kentucky, will speak on medical training at