1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

Charles L. Shearer

Transylvania launches Alltech Lecture Series with inaugural event Tuesday, February 6; free and open to the public

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania President Charles L. Shearer announced today that the University has teamed up with Alltech to offer a public lectureseries that deals with how science affects our health, life and future. “We are delighted to partner with Alltech to present Science Made Simple, a four-part lecture series,” said Shearer. “Transylvania is fortunate to have the opportunity to host four distinguished scientists on campus to speak to our students, faculty and staff as well as the community at large. We are indeed grateful to Alltech for their support of this program.” Alltech President Pearse Lyons will give the inaugural lecture on Tuesday, February 6, at 7:30 p.m. in Transylvania’s Haggin Auditorium. Lyons will speak on the competition for food, feed and fuel and whether we’ll be able to feed ourselves and our animals in 10 years. He will discuss the importance of ethanol as an alternative energy and fuel source. On March 6, Karl Dawson, director of worldwide research at Alltech, will speak on “The science in your glass of beer, wine or whiskey.” On April 25, Inge Russell of Heriot-Watt University (Edinburgh, Scotland), will discuss “The fountain of youth: Does it really exist?” The series will conclude May 8 with Ronan Power, director of research at Alltech, discussing “Feeding our genes for better health.” The lecture series aims to help the general public—including students, families and professionals—understand how science influences our everyday lives. Each speaker will present his or

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Transylvania University invites high school juniors and seniors to Winter Open House

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University will host an open house for high school juniors and seniors and their families Saturday, January 27 from 9 a.m – 2 p.m. in the Clive M. Beck Athletic Center. The Winter Open House schedule includes a welcome with President Charles L. Shearer; faculty presentations; an academic information fair; campus and residence hall tours; a student panel; information about scholarship and fundraising opportunities; and a complimentary lunch. Students and their parents will have the opportunity to talk with faculty members and current students about all aspects of life at Transylvania. Interested students may register for the open house and obtain more information by calling Transylvania’s admissions office at (800) 872-6798 or (859) 233-8242, or visiting admissions pages. Transylvania, founded in 1780, 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.

Transylvania alumna receives prestigious OAK award

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LEXINGTON, Ky.―Karen Kaye Caldwell, a 1977 graduate of Transylvania University and U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky, hasbeen honored by the Kentucky Advocates for Higher Education with its Outstanding Alumnus of Kentucky Award (OAK). OAK awards are presented to outstanding alumni of Kentucky colleges and universities who have gained national recognition in their profession or through their civic endeavors and have shown a continuing commitment to their alma maters. Caldwell, a Lexington resident and a native of Lincoln County, was named Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky in 1987. In 1991, at age 35, she became the first woman in Kentucky—and the youngest woman in the nation—to serve as a U.S. attorney when she was named to that position for the Eastern District of Kentucky. In that role, she earned a reputation for fighting public corruption when she led several investigations that resulted in the successful prosecution of state officials. She was recognized by the Department of Justice for her efforts in the investigation. Caldwell returned to private practice in 1993 specializing in civil and criminal litigation at one of Kentucky’s leading firms. Due to her quality work and reputation for successfully fighting public corruption, President George W. Bush nominated her to the federal bench in 2001. She was unanimously approved by the U.S. Senate to serve as U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky where she continues to serve today. “As

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Transylvania’s excellence in teaching recognized again—philosophy professor Peter Fosl receives major award from postsecondary education community

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania philosophy professor Peter Fosl has received the Acorn Award for outstanding teaching from the Kentucky Advocates forHigher Education. The award recognizes outstanding teachers at Kentucky’s public or independent colleges and universities. Fosl was chosen for the outstanding quality of his teaching, expertise in his fields of study, the originality of his courses and scholarship and the role he plays as a mentor to students and faculty. “Transylvania has always placed a high priority on teaching excellence,” said President Charles L. Shearer. “Peter is one of the finest teachers I have known. He is simply superb, and I am thrilled that his dedication has been recognized by the Council on Postsecondary Education.” When describing why he chose teaching as a profession, Fosl says “There’s a sense in which I didn’t choose teaching as a profession. Rather, teaching chose me. “Teaching is to some extent creating lovers. The word philosophy means love of wisdom. So there’s a kind of love of learning and inquiry and reflection that I try to ignite in students.” Fosl says that as a teacher it’s important to make sure students are involved in the class. “I’ve found that teaching is not just about conveying a body of information, but it’s cultivating certain passions and sentiments in the students, so that students find the material interesting, important, and something they can invest their own passions in,” he said. “One thing that is delightful and very satisfying

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Transylvania is again ranked in top tier of national liberal arts schools by U.S. News & World Report and named one of the nation’s best institutions by the Princeton Review

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—For the sixth consecutive year, Transylvania University is ranked in the top tier of national liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & WorldReport, and the Princeton Review rates Transy among the nation’s premier colleges. U.S. News’ 2007 evaluation of America’s best colleges is based on 2005 data and, in some cases, multi-year averages. The publication ranks 215 liberal arts colleges in statistical measures such as student ACT scores, graduation rates, alumni giving and institutional resources, as well as a subjective measure of academic reputation. Transylvania made gains in its graduation and retention rate and in financial and faculty resources categories. The resources category includes such factors as the commitment to instruction, class size, faculty pay, percent of faculty with highest degree, the student/faculty ratio, percent of full-time faculty, and the average spending per student on instruction, research and student services. “The top-tier ranking by U.S. News is just one recent measurement of how well Transylvania is doing,” said President Charles L. Shearer. “The Princeton Review also features Transylvania in the 2007 edition of its annual book, The Best 361 Colleges.” Transylvania is one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review. “We chose schools for this book primarily for their outstanding academics,” said Robert Franek, Princeton Review’s vice president for publishing. The schools’ evaluations are based on institutional data, feedback from current students, visits to the schools, opinions of independent college counselors and other

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