1780 – The Official Blog of Transylvania University

1780 | The Official Blog of Transylvania University

Seamus Carey

Renowned Celtic fiddler Eileen Ivers to perform at Transylvania on Oct. 7

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Grammy-winning Celtic fiddler Eileen Ivers, whom The New York Times called the Jimi Hendrix of the violin, will perform at Transylvania University on Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. in Haggin Auditorium. Ivers has played with a variety of performers, including Riverdance, Sting and Hall and Oates, and she has appeared on film soundtracks, most notably “Gangs of New York.” She is a nine-time All-Ireland Fiddle Champion and has become one of the most renowned figures in contemporary Irish music. Her band’s most recent program, “Beyond the Bog Road,” is a celebration of the Americana sound, surveying the growth of bluegrass, Appalachian, Quebecois and Cajun styles from their roots in Celtic music. The performance is energetic and passionate, with a wide variety of musical flavors. Tickets are free to the public and can be picked up before the show in the William T. Young Campus Center beginning Sept. 15 until they are sold out. For more information, call 859-233-8120. The event is part of the four-day Celebration of Transylvania, which will feature the inauguration of Seamus Carey as the university’s 26th president. It’s also part of Smith Concert Series, which was created in 2007 by the late Dorothy J. Smith, a 1942 Transylvania graduate, to bring high quality musical performances to Transylvania. The series is named for Smith and her late husband, Fred K. Smith, a 1940 Transylvania graduate. Transylvania University, located in the heart of downtown Lexington, Ky., is

Read “Renowned Celtic fiddler Eileen Ivers to perform at Transylvania on Oct. 7”

Transylvania makes U.S. News & World Report top liberal arts colleges list

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University earned a spot among the nation’s top liberal arts colleges in a U.S. News & World Report list released today. Transylvania ranked among the country’s best 100 liberal arts schools for a variety of reasons, including its excellent faculty, acceptance rate, alumni giving, financial resources and high school counselor ratings. “This ranking once again reinforces Transylvania’s standing as a top-tier U.S. liberal arts school,” President Seamus Carey said. “Our students learn from dedicated, engaging professors. And they benefit from living in the heart of a vibrant city—which sets us apart from most of the nation’s top liberal arts colleges.” The U.S. News & World Report ranking is one of many tools students and parents use when choosing a college. Other factors they may consider when deciding on Transylvania include our three new residence halls opening this fall and next year, other major building improvements to campus, a test-optional admissions policy and an innovative August term for our first-year students to acclimate to college life. Today’s U.S. News & World Report ranking—which placed Transylvania 82nd out of the nation’s 245 liberal arts schools—comes on the heels of two other strong showings. The Princeton Review listed Transylvania University among the top 15 percent of the nation’s four-year colleges because of superior academics. And the Washington Monthly highlighted the school’s value, listing the university in the top 14 percent of the Best Bang for the Buck Colleges in the South ranking.

Transylvania hosts national liberal arts seminar

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University recently continued its national conversation about liberal arts colleges through a seminar called Twenty-first Century Liberal Education: A Contested Concept. The Transylvania Seminar included 22 faculty participants from schools as far away as Middlebury College in Vermont and Wesleyan Nebraska University. Sessions ran July 23-25. “With its historical prominence, Transylvania is the ideal university to continue to host the collaboration of distinguished scholars to examine the sustainability of liberal education in this century,” said Laura Bryan, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the university. The public was invited to the seminar’s two public talks. Seamus Carey Transylvania University President Seamus Carey spoke on “Less is More: The Challenge of not Over-Administering the Liberal Arts.” Carey came to Transylvania in July of 2014 after four years as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Sacred Heart University. He also was the chairman of Manhattan College’s philosophy department. Jeff Freyman Jeff Freyman, professor emeritus at Transylvania, spoke on “Humanizing the Subject: Thoughts on a Curriculum for Liberal Education in the Twenty-First Century.” Freyman taught courses in comparative and international politics from 1980 until his retirement in 2014. The seminar also provided faculty participants an overview of liberal education throughout history and invited them to apply its principles to courses they teach at their own schools. Among the seminar’s other topics were “Reconnecting the Liberal Arts with the Natural Sciences and Mathematics” and “Entertaining Possibilities: Unconventional

Read “Transylvania hosts national liberal arts seminar”

Transylvania University commencement May 23

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

LEXINGTON Ky.—Transylvania University’s commencement on Saturday, May 23, marked the start of a new journey for graduating students, who are well-prepared to join the workforce or continue their education at graduate or professional schools. The students of the class of 2015 received their bachelor’s degrees during the 9:30 a.m. ceremony in front of historic Old Morrison. Homaira Akbari, an award-winning thought leader in the security, Internet of Things, mobile and software sectors, delivered the commencement address. She is founder and CEO of the global advisory firm, AKnowledge Partners. “Dr. Akbari is a brilliant thinker at the cutting edge of technology, industry and business,” President Seamus Carey said. “She has a unique perspective to share with our students that will not only inform, but inspire them to shape their futures.” Transylvania senior Skyler Slone—a theater and philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) major from Hindman, Ky.— gave the student address: “You Are Living Your Story.” Also during the ceremony, the university presented an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters to Roszalyn Mack Akins, a 1976 Transylvania graduate and long-time Fayette County Public Schools teacher and administrator. Akins founded the BMW (Black Males Working) Academy, which motivates and educates African American students. The class of 2015 These students have set themselves apart in an outstanding fashion: • Forty-one percent of the students will receive honors in their academic programs, and 35 percent will graduate with Latin honors—a cumulative GPA above 3.5. • Transylvania will

Read “Transylvania University commencement May 23”

New Transylvania residence hall to be named after former Keeneland president

Posted on by Office of Marketing and Communications

KET photo by Steve Shaffer LEXINGTON Ky.—Transylvania University will name one of its three new residence halls after James E. “Ted” Bassett III, a Marine Corps veteran and Yale graduate. Bassett, a member of the University’s Board of Trustees since 1970, contributed the project’s initial leadership gift. Bassett Hall will open for students in the 2016-17 school year. Two more residence halls will open between fall 2015 and fall 2016. All of the new buildings will be in Back Circle off West Fourth Street near the intersection of North Broadway. This construction will transform the University’s residential side of campus, integrating students’ social and academic environments. The halls will offer common study and activity areas, and they will be consistent with the University’s traditional architectural style. “It is a privilege for me to be associated with Transylvania University, one of the nation’s most revered and respected universities,” Bassett said. “I am honored to be partnering with them in helping to deliver a quality education for the next generation of students.” A native Kentuckian and horse industry leader, Bassett served as Keeneland’s president and chairman of the board and was president of the Breeders’ Cup Ltd. He also was a former director of the Kentucky State Police and received the Congressional Medal of Honor Society Distinguished Citizen Award in 2011. The Yale graduate has received numerous other recognitions, including the Distinguished Philanthropist, Eclipse Award of Merit, Lord Derby, Department of Navy

Read “New Transylvania residence hall to be named after former Keeneland president”