1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

Commencement

Mayor Jim Gray to deliver Transylvania commencement address

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Mayor Jim Gray will give Transylvania University’s commencement address on May 28. The two-term mayor has strong ties to the school, which is dedicated to strengthening its connection to the city. Transylvania and Gray have both shown a strong commitment to Lexington’s Northside Neighborhood in particular. Most recently, Transylvania agreed to partner with the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government to improve the West Fourth Street streetscape from Upper to Jefferson streets. The university—which is a Northside Neighborhood Association member—also helped with revitalization efforts by transforming an abandoned tobacco warehouse into the Fourth Street Athletics Complex. Gray’s connection to Transylvania is more than civic. His late mother, Lois Howard Gray, graduated from the school in 1940. She was Miss Transylvania that year and later served on the university’s Alumni Board and was on the Board of Trustees for 22 years. Additionally, in 1997 she received the Morrison Medallion, the school’s highest alumni award. “We welcome Mayor Jim Gray to campus as an obvious choice for our next commencement speaker,” President Seamus Carey said. “Transylvania is an integral part of Lexington, and the city—with its plentiful internships and other opportunities—complements our mission as a top-100 national liberal arts university.” The commencement ceremony will be in front of Old Morrison. The historic building is at the center of the city seal, which highlights the importance of the relationship between Transylvania and Lexington. Other recent commencement speakers have included Homaira Akbari, a leading thinker

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Transylvania University commencement May 23

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LEXINGTON Ky.—Transylvania University’s commencement on Saturday, May 23, marked the start of a new journey for graduating students, who are well-prepared to join the workforce or continue their education at graduate or professional schools. The students of the class of 2015 received their bachelor’s degrees during the 9:30 a.m. ceremony in front of historic Old Morrison. Homaira Akbari, an award-winning thought leader in the security, Internet of Things, mobile and software sectors, delivered the commencement address. She is founder and CEO of the global advisory firm, AKnowledge Partners. “Dr. Akbari is a brilliant thinker at the cutting edge of technology, industry and business,” President Seamus Carey said. “She has a unique perspective to share with our students that will not only inform, but inspire them to shape their futures.” Transylvania senior Skyler Slone—a theater and philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) major from Hindman, Ky.— gave the student address: “You Are Living Your Story.” Also during the ceremony, the university presented an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters to Roszalyn Mack Akins, a 1976 Transylvania graduate and long-time Fayette County Public Schools teacher and administrator. Akins founded the BMW (Black Males Working) Academy, which motivates and educates African American students. The class of 2015 These students have set themselves apart in an outstanding fashion: • Forty-one percent of the students will receive honors in their academic programs, and 35 percent will graduate with Latin honors—a cumulative GPA above 3.5. • Transylvania will

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Leading thinker on future of technology to deliver Transylvania commencement address

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LEXINGTON Ky.— Homaira Akbari, an award-winning thought leader in the security, Internet of Things, mobile and software sectors, will deliver Transylvania University’s commencement address Saturday, May 23. The ceremony will begin at 9:30 a.m. in front of historic Old Morrison. Akbari became a pioneer in an industry at the forefront of global economic growth and development—at a time when few women were entering the science and technology workforce. She is founder and CEO of the global advisory firm, AKnowledge Partners. “We very much look forward to hearing Dr. Akbari’s address,” Transylvania President Seamus Carey said. “She is a brilliant thinker at the cutting edge of technology, industry and business. Her insight into the evolution of technology, where it is going and the impact it will have on how we live, is mesmerizing. She has a unique perspective to share with our students that will not only inform, but inspire them to shape their futures.” Akbari’s many leadership roles include serving on several U.S. and international public companies’ boards of directors and as chair of Johns Hopkins University Physics and Astronomy Advisory Council. She also is former president and CEO of SkyBitz, Inc., and has held senior executive positions in Fortune 500 companies, including Microsoft. Akbari earned a Ph.D. with honors in particle physics from Tufts University and an MBA with distinction from Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business. She has authored numerous scientific and industry articles and is an inventor

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Beshear to speak at Transylvania’s commencement

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear will speak at Transylvania University’s  commencement ceremony Saturday, May 24, at 9:30 a.m. in front of historic Old Morrison. Two hundred and forty-six students will receive bachelor’s degrees before they head off to graduate and professional programs or enter the workforce with the critical thinking and creative problem solving skills that a liberal arts education provides—and the current economy demands. “Transylvania University has produced smart, well-rounded and well-equipped graduates longer than any other institution in Kentucky, and I am honored to serve as the commencement speaker,” said Gov. Beshear. “I’m looking forward to sharing a few pieces of hard-earned advice before these bright young men and women venture out into Kentucky and the rest of the world. I am confident that they’re going to make our Commonwealth very proud.” A two-term governor, Beshear has championed education initiatives that improved the state’s rankings in areas such as the number of young adults who have received a high school diploma or its equivalent and the number of high school graduates who go on to college. Transylvania senior Karl Alexander Schmitt, a biology major from Fort Mitchell, Ky., will give the student address, “What’s in a Name?” During the commencement ceremony, Transylvania will also award an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters to two alumni: Lula Morton Drewes, class of 1967, and Patrick H. Molloy, class of 1963. Drewes, a Lexington native and graduate of Bryan Station High School,

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Transylvania recognizes civil rights attorney who helped integrate the university

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Patrick Molloy, Transylvania University class of 1963, has followed an instinct for justice his entire life. The Lexington-born attorney served most of his career as a federal prosecutor who championed civil rights. On May 24, Molloy will return to his alma mater to receive an honorary doctorate during Transylvania’s commencement ceremony on the lawn in front of Old Morrison. The award recognizes his efforts to integrate the campus of the historic liberal arts institution. His sense of civil justice—instilled by his parents—motivated Molloy to take an action in the racially-charged early sixties that would bring profound change to Transylvania University and to the lives of many, including fellow honorary doctorate recipient, Dr. Lula Morton Drewes. “As a student I looked around and saw no African Americans,” Molloy recalls of the Transylvania campus of his junior and senior years. “Myself and one or two others including [President’s Award honoree] Mike Mitchell decided to go see Dr. Irvin Lunger, the university president to say ‘Mr. President, we’re concerned that in this day and age there ought to be representation of minorities in the student body.’” Lunger agreed, instructing Molloy and Mitchell to find an individual with the courage and determination to become the first African American to pursue a degree at Transylvania.  “We got some references and one of them was [Bryan Station High School student] Lula Morton. We went to her house and sat down with her and her family.

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