Transylvania University welcomes new students Friday as they move into residence halls and begin a weeklong First Engagements orientation. Founded in 1780, Kentucky’s first college and the 16th oldest institution of higher learning in the country expects approximately 1,000 students on campus this fall.
With an average GPA of 3.78 and 50 Premier Scholars in their ranks, they will be well prepared to learn from a faculty dedicated to academic excellence when the new school year kicks off Sept. 3.
The nearly 300 incoming Pioneers hail from 18 states (most are from Kentucky) and three other countries — Ghana, India and Kenya.
Also, 54% are student-athletes playing for a school that’s a conference powerhouse with teams competing at the highest levels nationally.
And their academic interests are broad, with the most popular majors ranging from the pre-health fields to business to biology to computer science.
At Transylvania, they’ll benefit from the university’s exceptional — and growing — support of academics. For instance, the school announced a $25 million, 15-year grant earlier this year to fund up to 12 Bingham Endowed Chairs for Teaching Excellence at Transylvania. The first were named this spring.
This year’s incoming students can also join an esports program whose teams have won two conference championships in only two seasons of competition — and hone their business skills at an updated center that will prepare them for a new era of entrepreneurship.
“Transylvania University has thrived in fostering transformative learning experiences,” said President Brien Lewis, who will be greeting new Pioneers as the campus pulls together to help make Friday’s move-in a smooth one.