1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

Commencement

Transylvania graduates largest class in its 231-year history

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University sent 263 graduates into the world Saturday, the most in the school’s 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. President Williams presents a diploma to Holly Milburn. 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. “We have an energy crisis on our hands, and global warming is a very real issue,” Candris said. “And if we don’t 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…Every day that I go to work, I sincerely believe that I’m playing a part in leaving this earth better than I found it.” Aris Candris ’73 delivers the commencement address. 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—mathematics, 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

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Transylvania University to graduate largest class in its 231-year history on Saturday; president and chief executive officer of Westinghouse Electric Company to give keynote address

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University will graduate the largest class in its 231-year history on Saturday, May 28, at 10 a.m. on the front lawn of historic Old Morrison. This will be the first Transylvania commencement for newly inaugurated president R. Owen Williams.   Aris Candris, president and chief executive officer of Westinghouse Electric Company, a world leader in the commercial nuclear power industry, will give the commencement address. Candris, a 1973 graduate of Transylvania and a member of the board of trustees, became the first member of his immediate family to leave his native Greece and attend college in America. His nephew, Stamatios Kandris, is a member of the class of 2011. Continuing the tradition of a graduating senior speaking at commencement on behalf of the students, Virginia Gentry Hamilton, of Bardstown, Ky., will represent the class of 2011. Candris completed his Transylvania degree in three years with three majors—mathematics, physics and pre-engineering. He earned his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in nuclear engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University. He began his 36-year career with Westinghouse as a senior engineer and has progressed through increasingly responsible positions on both the engineering and management sides of the company. He was appointed president and CEO in 2008. Today, Candris is among the world’s leading experts on energy and nuclear power. He serves on the board of directors of the World Nuclear Association and is a member of the Nuclear Energy Institute. He has been involved in

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Art professor Dan Selter retires to focus on his own art

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Dan Selter retired in May after 35 years at Transylvania as an art professor and was awarded faculty emeritus status at the commencement ceremony. Selter, a master ceramist, is known as an amicable professor who expected a lot out of his students but didn’t have to run a tight ship to get it. “The phrase that comes up a lot is ‘laid back,’” Selter, who won a Bingham Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1997, said, laughing. “I, frankly, relied a lot on the idea that at the college level, and in teaching art, it is better to try and find something that will motivate the students from within, rather than some sort of drillmaster approach that causes them to follow the steps. I think it’s more successful that they get turned on to something and get involved and get excited by it.” Holli Schulz, a senior from New Salisbury, Ind., was excited enough that she went from thinking about getting a minor in art to majoring in it after taking Selter’s class for the first time. “He persuaded me to (major in art) more than anything,” she said. “I loved his classes, and I liked talking to him. He’s going to be missed.” Selter, who is originally from Louisville, enrolled at the University of Louisville for his undergraduate degree but was drafted and spent three years in the U.S. Army before he could take his first class. He finally

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Transylvania awards 240 degrees at Shearer’s final commencement as president

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The class of 2010 gathers on the Beck Center steps for the class photo prior to the commencement ceremony on the lawn of Old Morrison. LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University awarded bachelor of arts degrees to 240 seniors on Saturday in the final commencement ceremony for President Charles L. Shearer, who will retire from the presidency at the end of July after a 27-year tenure in the office. A crowd of friends and family, faculty and trustees looked on from the lawn of Old Morrison as Shearer conferred the diplomas. In delivering the commencement address, he made a point of combining his feelings at leaving office with his devotion to Transy students throughout his tenure, and especially to the class of 2010. “What has given me the greatest joy over the years has simply been knowing students,” Shearer said. “Because I am departing from the presidency, I feel as though I am part of the class of 2010 and that we are graduating together. I am confident that Transylvania has prepared you well to go out in the world and make a difference.” Shearer came to Transylvania in 1979 as vice president for finance and was appointed president in 1983. His 27 years of service is the longest tenure of any president in the history of Kentucky’s oldest college, founded in 1780 as the 16h college in the nation and the first west of the Allegheny Mountains. As he concluded his remarks,

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Karen Caldwell, Dorothy Smith, Jennifer Moore and Richard J. Corman receive top honors at Transylvania’s alumni weekend awards ceremony

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LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University bestowed its top awards to distinguished alumni and friends during its recent alumni weekend awards luncheon. Karen K. Caldwell ‘77, received the Irvin E. Lunger Award, which is presented for unique and exceptional service to Transylvania; Dorothy Steinbeck Smith ‘42 received the Morrison Medallion, which is presented to graduates for outstanding service to Transylvania and its programs; Jennifer A. Moore ‘95, received the Outstanding Young Alumni Award for extraordinary involvement at Transylvania; and Richard J. Corman received the Transylvania Medal for outstanding service to the university. Caldwell rarely misses an opportunity to support her alma mater. She is a member of the board of trustees and recently served on the presidential search committee. She is a former member of the alumni executive board and past president of the Bluegrass Area Alumni Club. She connects with prospective students, speaks at Scholarship Days and delivered the commencement address in 2005, where she was presented with an honorary doctor of laws degree. In 2006 she received an Outstanding Alumna of Kentucky Award from the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. The first woman to serve as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Caldwell was chief federal prosecutor for several high-profile cases that drew statewide attention. In August 2001, President George W. Bush nominated Caldwell to serve as United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky, a lifetime appointment. The nomination sailed through Senate confirmation hearings, and

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