Faculty & Staff Archives

Covert joins Transylvania as associate vice president for advancement

Posted on January 9, 2012July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Kara Little Covert has joined the Transylvania University alumni and development office as associate vice president for advancement. She has more than 20 years of higher education administrative experience, including her most recent position as associate vice president for development at Eastern Kentucky University. Covert is in charge of a newly formed major gifts section that will play a key role in fund-raising efforts as Transylvania aims to expand enrollment and create new academic and student-life programs over the coming years. “The university’s plans for expansion and progress are more extensive than any we have envisioned before,” Covert said. “It will take exceptional leadership from individuals, corporations and foundations to help us realize those goals.” Covert, a 1990 Transylvania graduate, feels the university’s move toward becoming a somewhat larger school and enhancing its academic and campus-life offerings is in tune with the times. “There have been points in the history of higher education when you could maintain the status quo and do very well, but we’re not in one of those periods now,” she said. “Partly because of economic factors, people are in a different frame of mind. You have to be that much better to even catch somebody’s attention, and then make sure they believe you are an institution they can invest in wisely.” Kirk Purdom, vice president for advancement, believes Covert’s experience in higher education makes her a perfect fit for her new position. “Kara has worked

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Transylvania University hires director of campus diversity and inclusion to help expand its commitment to diversity

Posted on September 12, 2011July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Eduardo Nino-Moreno has been named director of campus diversity and inclusion at Transylvania University. The new position was created to help expand Transylvania’s commitment to diversity, and Nino-Moreno will report directly to President R. Owen Williams, who has made diversity a priority for Transylvania’s campus. “We are very excited to add Eduardo to our team at Transylvania,” Williams said. “A liberal arts community is one that tackles issues from a variety of angles and viewpoints, and the more diverse campus we will become under his leadership will help our students become the global thinkers they strive to be.” Nino-Moreno comes to Transylvania with more than 30 years of experience in international education, recruitment and fundraising. He spent over two decades with the United Nations stationed throughout Central and South America, Asia and Africa planning human development programs, leading diverse professional teams and managing U.N. resources. He holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.A. from Cornell University. As director, Nino-Moreno will develop and implement a variety of positive, proactive initiatives that support an integrated approach to diversity and inclusivity in all aspects of university life, including a strategic plan for diversity. In addition to increasing the number of students from underrepresented demographics, he will work to augment programs and events on campus that demonstrate the importance of diversity in education, and he will help Transylvania connect with the Lexington community to promote diversity. He will work closely with

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Transylvania University names the Rev. Nancy Jo Kemper interim associate dean of interreligious life

Posted on July 15, 2011July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Michael Vetter, vice president and dean of students at Transylvania University, announced today that the Rev. Nancy Jo Kemper has been named interim associate dean of interreligious life, for a one-year appointment effective August 1. Kemper, a 1964 graduate of Transylvania, is executive director and pastor of New Union Christian Church and served as the executive director of the Kentucky Council of Churches from 1991-2009. She holds a Master of Divinity degree from Yale University Divinity School and holds ministerial standing in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ. “Nancy Jo Kemper will be a tremendous asset to Transylvania this coming year as she engages our community in a broad range of interreligious programs,” said Vetter. “Her extensive background in church and service work along with her enthusiasm and vigor are perfect for this new role.” Kemper will advise faith-based student organizations, coordinate church related internships, provide social justice and interreligious programming, work with the interreligious life team to develop a new model for campus, monitor campus religious activities to assure they are consistent with the liberal arts mission of the college and provide spiritual counseling for students, faculty and staff. “I’m looking forward to this opportunity to serve Transylvania on an interim basis,” said Kemper. “I find being in an environment of young people who are making inquiries into many fields of knowledge and carving out their own unique identities to be especially

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Transylvania University names Kirk Purdom vice president for advancement

Posted on March 31, 2011July 14, 2020 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 announces new president after in-depth national search

Posted on April 14, 2010July 14, 2020 by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—R. Owen Williams will be the next president of Transylvania University, William T. Young Jr., chairman of Transylvania’s Board of Trustees, announced this afternoon. He will become the 25th president of the 230-year-old liberal arts college when Charles L. Shearer retires on July 31. “Owen Williams was the presidential search committee’s unanimous choice from a sizeable pool of exceptionally qualified candidates,” said Young. “His educational background, his managerial experience, his ability to relate to people of differing backgrounds, his drive, curiosity and enthusiasm, and his dedication to an excellent liberal arts education are all factors that influenced our decision.” Young added that “Charles Shearer is leaving his successor with an exceptionally strong base from which to lead Transylvania to the next level of excellence as a national liberal arts institution.” Shearer said that Williams is an excellent choice and will bring many positive qualities to the university. “I’m confident he will continue to move Transylvania forward,” said Shearer. Williams, 58, earned an A.B. in philosophy from Dartmouth College, an M.A. in intellectual history from Cambridge University, a master’s of law from Yale Law School and a Ph.D. in history, specializing in nineteenth-century American history, from Yale University. “I could not be more honored to become the next president of Transylvania University,” said Williams. “Transylvania is an extraordinary liberal arts college and, as a historian, I am in awe of its rich history.” Williams said that “Charles Shearer has built

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