{"id":1589,"date":"2011-05-28T09:12:13","date_gmt":"2011-05-28T13:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/1780\/2011\/05\/transylvania-graduates-largest-class-in-its-231-year-history\/"},"modified":"2020-07-14T13:57:43","modified_gmt":"2020-07-14T17:57:43","slug":"transylvania-graduates-largest-class-in-its-231-year-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/1780\/2011\/05\/transylvania-graduates-largest-class-in-its-231-year-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Transylvania graduates largest class in its 231-year history"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CommencementLEXINGTON, Ky.\u2014Transylvania University sent 263 graduates into the world Saturday, the most in the school\u2019s 231-year history, during the first commencement ceremony under President R. Owen Williams, who completed his first academic year at the helm. The previous record of 260 graduates was set in 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"President<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
President Williams presents a diploma to Holly Milburn.\n\t\t\t<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

On the steps of historic Old Morrison, Aris Candris, president and CEO of Westinghouse Electric Company, urged graduates to work hard and take risks while making sure to find a vocation that will fulfill them and bring them happiness, drawing from his experience in nuclear power and environmental issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have an energy crisis on our hands, and global warming is a very real issue,\u201d Candris said. \u201cAnd if we don\u2019t do something about it now, we will place future generations at risk. As a society and as a planet, we must get past short-term thinking, and start long-term planning\u2026Every day that I go to work, I sincerely believe that I\u2019m playing a part in leaving this earth better than I found it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"Aris<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Aris Candris ’73 delivers the commencement address.\n\t\t\t<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Candris, a 1973 graduate of Transylvania, a member of the board of trustees, and uncle of graduating senior Stamatios Kandris completed his bachelor of arts in three years with three majors\u2014mathematics, physics and pre-engineering, and he earned an M.S. and a Ph.D., both in nuclear engineering, at Carnegie-Mellon University. His 36-year career with Westinghouse has included increasingly responsible positions on both the engineering and management sides of the company, beginning in 1975 with his first role as a senior engineer in the former advanced reactor division.<\/p>\n

He reminded the students of the value of their liberal arts educations, regardless of the fields they enter as professionals. After the March 11 tsunami and earthquake in Japan, the state of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has been featured prominently in the world media, but Candris said the reality is not as grim as has been portrayed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s because historically, the nuclear energy industry has done a less-than-adequate job of educating the public as to the realities of nuclear energy,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have not been good communicators. And that\u2019s too bad, because we have an excellent story to tell. Although many people can master the technical skills of a job, few also have the communication skills needed to present ideas clearly and concisely. This ability will be invaluable to you in the coming years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"VirginiaGraduating senior Virginia Hamilton, a writing, rhetoric and communication major and psychology minor from Bardstown, Ky., addressed the students. She recalled Scott Turow, whose book \u201cUltimate Punishment\u201d she and her classmates were assigned the summer before their first year at Transylvania for the annual First Engagements reading program.<\/p>\n

\u201cFour years ago, we each read the words of Scott Turow and maybe didn\u2019t pick up on the life-long insights he buries beneath the lawful jargon,\u201d Hamilton said. \u201cNow, we leave with more than his explanation of the Illinois state laws on capital punishment. We leave with a new outlook on our active futures. And now, my sentiment for you, in conjunction with Turow\u2019s words and Transy\u2019s mission, is this: Don\u2019t just be an optimist; be a leader. And don\u2019t just be a leader; be a pioneer now, and in the future. Because if we fail to maximize on the potential that Transylvania University has instilled in each one of us, now that would be the \u2018ultimate punishment.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Interesting Facts about the Graduating Class:<\/strong><\/p>\n