LEXINGTON, Ky.\u2014Mayor Jim Gray will give Transylvania University\u2019s commencement address on May 28.<\/p>\n
The two-term mayor has strong ties to the school, which is dedicated to strengthening its connection to the city.<\/p>\n
Transylvania and Gray have both shown a strong commitment to Lexington\u2019s 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\u2014which is a Northside Neighborhood Association member\u2014also helped with revitalization efforts by transforming an abandoned tobacco warehouse into the Fourth Street Athletics Complex.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.transy.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/attachments\/JimGrayCrop.jpg\")
Gray\u2019s 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\u2019s Alumni Board and was on the Board of Trustees for 22 years. Additionally, in 1997 she received the Morrison Medallion, the school\u2019s highest alumni award.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe welcome Mayor Jim Gray to campus as an obvious choice for our next commencement speaker,\u201d President Seamus Carey said. \u201cTransylvania is an integral part of Lexington, and the city\u2014with its plentiful internships and other opportunities\u2014complements our mission as a top-100 national liberal arts university.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Other recent commencement speakers have included Homaira Akbari, a leading thinker on the future of technology, and actor Steve Zahn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LEXINGTON, Ky.\u2014Mayor Jim Gray will give Transylvania University\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2014which is a Northside Neighborhood Association member\u2014also helped with revitalization efforts by transforming an abandoned tobacco warehouse into the Fourth Street Athletics Complex. Gray\u2019s 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\u2019s Alumni Board and was on the Board of Trustees for 22 years. Additionally, in 1997 she received the Morrison Medallion, the school\u2019s highest alumni award. \u201cWe welcome Mayor Jim Gray to campus as an obvious choice for our next commencement speaker,\u201d President Seamus Carey said. \u201cTransylvania is an integral part of Lexington, and the city\u2014with its plentiful internships and other opportunities\u2014complements our mission as a top-100 national liberal arts university.\u201d 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<\/p>\n