Transy Partners

LEXINGTON, Ky.—Martin Luther King Jr. Day is more than just time off work or school. It’s a call to service, and Transylvania University is answering it. The school and its students will engage community members in a wide variety of activities on the Jan. 20 holiday—from knitting mittens for the needy to participating in Lexington’s Freedom March. The school has honored this nationwide Day of Service for more than a decade, said Karen Anderson, coordinator of community service and civic engagement. “It’s a day off of work—but a day on for your community,” she said. It’s a time for Transylvania to partner with service agencies and welcome other volunteers to campus. Community members are invited to join campus activities organized to help support our neighbors in need. This year’s volunteers include high school students from Estill County, who will make sandwiches for the homeless. “Last year I brought my students because I felt like they would benefit from going to a college campus and being around college students and actually seeing college students participate in activities that better someone else,” said Ashley Flynn, the AmeriCorps Kentucky College Coach for Estill County High School. “For the students to spend their day off from school serving others is just what Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service is all about,” she said. It helps teach youth that service is a life-long continuum of engaging with the community, Anderson said. Plus, “It’s a

Read “MLK Day a holiday, but not a day of rest”

O’Brien and Williams sign the agreement in the board room of Old Morrison. LEXINGTON, Ky.—Transylvania University President R. Owen Williams and President of the Board of Directors of the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning Eileen M. O’Brien signed an agreement today to explore the possibility of a significant partnership. “Our goal is for both Transylvania and the Carnegie Center to work together to better enhance our commitment to lifetime learning,” said Williams. The yearlong commitment begins July 1, 2011. During this time, the Carnegie Center and Transylvania will each share space with the other for programs, concerts, lectures, receptions and similar events, will expand or modify current programs at the Carnegie Center and will formalize and expand service learning and volunteer support. “We are excited to have this collaborative effort with Transylvania formally acknowledged,” said O’Brien. “Both organizations have demonstrated such a tremendous commitment to lifetime learning and the literary arts, which bodes well for our future.” Transylvania has a long history of its students volunteering in various capacities at the Carnegie Center. “We believe we can do more than what we’ve been doing and are excited about the possibility of making the Carnegie Center even stronger,” said Williams.  “This is a win-win agreement.”