1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

R. Owen Williams

Transylvania University names Kirk Purdom vice president for advancement

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania President R. Owen Williams announced today that after an extensive national search, Kirk Purdom has been named vice president for advancement, effective April 18. Mark Blankenship, associate vice president for alumni affairs, has been serving as acting vice president for alumni and development.   Purdom comes to Transylvania from Kentucky Wesleyan College where he has served as vice president for advancement since July 2008. Prior to that, he was the director of development at Middle Tennessee State University. He has also served as the director of leadership giving for the University of Tennessee and the major gifts officer for the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Mississippi. “We are delighted to have Kirk join our team at Transylvania,” said Williams. “He was our unanimous choice for this critically important position and we are confident that his experience and approach will help us achieve our goal to become one of the best liberal arts institutions in the nation.” Purdom will serve on the President’s Cabinet and be responsible for all areas of university advancement. Transylvania consistently ranks in the top 20 of the country’s liberal arts institutions in percentage of alumni giving and the university recently concluded its five-year 225th Anniversary Campaign, which raised $47.3 million. Among other responsibilities, Purdom will be in charge of the development and implementation of Transylvania’s next capital campaign and the generation of major and planned gifts. “I am really excited about

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Transylvania wins AIKCU’s annual “Battle of the Bumpers” contest for third year running and raises over $7,000 for scholarship fund

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—With the help of alumni, students, faculty, staff, parents and friends, Transylvania University is once again the winner in the Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities (AIKCU) “Battle of the Bumpers.” After back-to-back titles in 2008 and 2009, Transylvania aggressively promoted its plates again in 2010, beating out the other 19 AIKCU campuses to put the most campus license plates on Kentucky highways and the most dollars in the school’s general scholarship fund. Transylvania’s efforts helped increase their total sales to 768, an increase of 33 license plates over 2009. Ten dollars from the sale of each plate is returned directly to the school’s general scholarship fund, translating into $7,680 for student scholarships at Transylvania. Overall, sales of Kentucky Independent Higher Education plates raised almost $42,000 for student scholarships in 2010. “I am impressed with the number of alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff and friends who choose to show their Transylvania pride with a white and crimson license plate,” said Transylvania President R. Owen Williams. “In particular, the support of our loyal alumni has been remarkable.” The Kentucky Independent Higher Education series plates took to the roads in 2002. Each independent college and university had its own plate, but they all shared a common design theme. Thanks to advances in license plate printing technology and some changes in state regulations, AIKCU members were able to work with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet to redesign their plates in late 2007.

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Transylvania University invites high school sophomores and juniors to Spring Preview Day, March 26

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University invites high school sophomores and juniors and their families to campus for Spring Preview Day, Saturday, March 26, from 9 am.-2 p.m. The event will take place in the Clive M. Beck Athletic Center on the corner of Broadway and Fourth Street. Spring Preview Day includes a welcome with President R. Owen Williams, group meetings with admissions counselors, a session on preparing for admissions interviews, a financial aid session for parents, campus and residence hall tours, discussions with current students and a complimentary lunch. For more information or to register for Spring Preview Day, call Transylvania’s admissions office at (800) 872-6798 or (859) 233-8242, or register online. Founded in 1780, Transylvania 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.

Anonymous donor pledges matching gift of up to $1 million

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—In honor of the April 29, 2011 inauguration of R. Owen Williams, Transylvania’s 25th president, an anonymous donor has pledged a matching gift of up to $1 million for Transylvania alumni and friends who make a gift of $10,000 or more by April 30. Contributions that bring a donor’s cumulative giving for the 2010-11 fiscal year to $10,000 or more also count toward the challenge. The donor’s gift and funds raised from the challenge will be used to help move Transylvania forward by immediately implementing parts of the 2009-12 Strategic Plan and other initiatives. Williams has stressed five points of concentration: diversity, globalization, sustainability, technology and community outreach. “Our anonymous donor is a dear friend of the university,” said Mark Blankenship, acting vice president for development. “His generosity of matching gifts of $10,000 or more gives people added incentive to help the university they love.” Blankenship said that donors may choose how their gifts are used, including support for any specific area including the annual fund, which helps the university meet its more urgent needs, or for named scholarships and the general scholarship fund, which allow prospective students with financial need the chance to experience a Transylvania education. To make your gift and help move Transylvania forward, or for any questions, please contact the development office at (800) 487-2679 or email:Mark Blankenship ’81, acting vice president for development and associate vice president for alumni affairsSusie H. Bullock, development writerLori

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Entrepreneur Hall of Fame recognizes three with Transylvania ties

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—The inaugural class of the Kentucky Entrepreneur Hall of Fame includes three men with close ties to Transylvania University. Created to celebrate Kentucky’s most successful entrepreneurs, the hall of fame recognizes financial achievement, innovation in products or services, job creation, contributions to specific industries and community involvement. Although Pearse Lyons, Warren W. Rosenthal and the late William T. Young earned their entrepreneurial stripes through markedly different careers, they are all either current or former members of the Transylvania Board of Trustees and have supported the university in a variety of other ways. “The remarkable professional success these men have attained gave them the means to also support higher education through their generous commitment of time and resources to this university,” said Transylvania President R. Owen Williams. “We salute them for this latest honor and renew our appreciation for what they have done for Transylvania.” Transylvania Trustee Pearse Lyons is the founder and president of Alltech, a leading animal health company that employs over 1,900 people in 91 countries. Begun in 1980, Alltech now has group sales approaching $400 million. The company was the primary corporate sponsor of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Lyons is responsible for creating the Alltech Lecture Series at Transylvania, which has brought key figures in science and industry to campus to discuss such diverse topics as renewable energy, biotechnology in relation to the aging process, Alzheimer’s disease and the effects of nutrition on

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