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AIKCU Interns pose during their orientation luncheon at the AIKCU office.
L-R: Jana Habarek (Lindsey Wilson); Crystal Bishop (Lindsey Wilson); Amanda Mullen (Midway); Erin Owen (Asbury); Kayla Blanton (Pikeville)

Forget what you might have seen on MTV. Five independent college students got a taste of the “real world” this spring while interning in state government through AIKCU’s Frankfort Semester Internship Program.

Four of the five AIKCU interns will graduate this weekend. One intern, Erin Owen of Asbury College, has already parlayed her intern experience into a full-time position in the Governor’s office (see related story). All of them agree that this experience opened up a world of possibilities for the future.

Jana Habarek explains that the practical experience she gained while interning with the Kentucky Historical Society and the exposure to a variety of people have given her confidence in her ability to face the future. She notes that prior to her internship she “felt that there was nowhere to go in Kentucky to get a job with a bachelor’s degree in History and Social Science. The AIKCU internship showed me the endless opportunities and directions I can go in with my education from a small school like Lindsey Wilson College.”

A key aspect of the AIKCU internships is the full-time nature of the program and immersion in a real state government working environment. Interns are treated as valued employees with real responsibilities. This is both challenging and invigorating for the participants.

Kayla Blanton of Pikeville College, the only non-senior among the five interns, worked in the Department of Parks where she wrote press releases and conducted market research, among other tasks.

Blanton notes that the experience challenged her as both a writer and a person. “This internship has given me the opportunity to sharpen my communication skills as well as invaluable experience that I would have never learned in a classroom,” she said. “I now have a much better understanding of the career path I want to take and the person I want to be.”

Life as an intern in the Secretary of State’s office was never dull for Crystal Bishop, a Lindsey Wilson College biology major. The days leading up to late-January’s candidate filing deadline for state primaries was particularly exciting.

“It was crazy when everyone was filing to run for state office,” said Bishop. “I had photographers jumping on my desk, candidates coming in at the very last second, you name it, it happened.”

Bishop also contends that the internship experience provided educational and professional opportunities that she would never have access to on campus. “I had the opportunity to meet every potential governor and many other influential state government officials,” she notes. “Secretary Grayson and his staff have made me feel right at home. I feel like a part of the team, not just an intern.”

For Midway College’s Amanda Mullen, who interned for the Council on Postsecondary Education, the internship “presented me with the opportunity to build lasting friendships and make valuable connections in the professional world.” Like her colleagues in the program, Mullen gives the AIKCU internship program a ringing endorsement. She writes, “I would highly recommend the AIKCU internship to other students.”

Asbury College’s Erin Owen, who went straight from her internship to her new role as assistant to the director of Gov. Fletcher’s Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives, said that her AIKCU internship “truly changed my life.” She had no experience in state government or administration and public policy prior to beginning her AIKCU internship in January. The help, advice and camaraderie from other Fletcher staff members, she said, have led her to consider a career in some aspect of public service. “That is (also) life changing for someone who would not have thought twice about such an undertaking in the past,” Owen said.

The AIKCU internships are sponsored during the spring semester of each year and are open to applicants from Kentucky’s 20 independent colleges and universities who are juniors, seniors or graduate students. Students work 30 hours weekly and complete two academic seminars while in Frankfort. During even-numbered years interns work with members of Kentucky’s legislature. In alternate years they spend their semester working in state government executive agencies. The primary purpose of the program, held each spring semester since 2000, is to expose outstanding students to public service and state government as a potential career choice.

Click “more” to see more photos of the interns Read the rest of this entry »

Congratulations to Pikeville College President Harold H. (Hal) Smith, Centre College class of 1964, who will be honored during Centre’s homecoming festivities this Saturday, October 21, as one of three recipients of the Centre Distinguished Alumnus/a Award.

Smith has served as President of Pikeville College since 1997. He began his career in higher education at Centre, where he served as vice-president and dean of students, dean of admissions, and lecturer in management. This marks the second time he has been honored by his alma mater; in 1994 he was inducted into the Centre Athletic Hall of Fame.

To learn more about President Smith, click here.

Four of five award winners announced during the Governor’s Conference on Postsecondary Education Trusteeship earlier this week have ties to AIKCU institutions.

Secretary of State Trey Grayson presented the Acorn and Outstanding Alumnus of Kentucky (OAK) Awards on behalf of the Kentucky Advocates for Higher Education, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of postsecondary education in Kentucky.

Peter Stanley Fosl, a philosophy professor at Transylvania University, is one of two 2006 Acorn Award recipients. The Acorn Award, first presented in 1992 by the Kentucky Advocates, recognizes outstanding teachers at Kentucky’s public or independent colleges and universities with a $5,000 honorarium. Recipients are chosen based on information they provide about their reasons for selecting college teaching as a profession, their philosophy of teaching, and their professional achievements.

Dr. Fosl, a Louisville resident, earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in philosophy and economics from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. He went on to earn a Master of Arts degree and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

As one of his associates described him – “he is a superb and inspiring teacher, an active scholar, a dynamic colleague, and is more than deserving of national recognition.” Dr. Fosl was named Bingham-Young Professor at Transylvania University in 2004. This position brings responsibility to involve all on campus in a thematic and multidisciplinary exploration of a topic. To this end, Dr. Fosl developed and deployed a two-year “Liberty, Security, and Justice Program” that included a new philosophy course, a film series, faculty/student reading groups, and national guest speakers in an effort to focus campus intellectual life around this issue.

When describing why he chose teaching as a profession, he says “There’s a sense in which I didn’t choose teaching as a profession. Rather, teaching chose me.” He is a contributing editor to The Philosophers’ Magazine and has been a member of the editorial board of The Journal of Transcendent Philosophy. His latest book, a collaboration with Julian Baggini called The Ethics Toolkit expected later this year, discusses how to think about ethical issues aimed at a mass audience.

“Transylvania has always placed a high priority on teaching excellence,” said Translvania 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.”

The OAK Awards were inaugurated in 1987 to recognize outstanding alumni of Kentucky colleges and universities. Recipients of the OAK award hold an undergraduate degree from a public or independent Kentucky college or university, have achieved national stature and reputation in their chosen career and have exhibited a lifelong affection for, and attachment to, their alma mater and to Kentucky.

This year’s OAK winners are:

Karen Kaye Caldwell - Transylvania University and the University of Kentucky College of Law

The Honorable Karen Kaye Caldwell, a Lexington resident and a native of Lincoln County, is an alumna of Transylvania University and the University of Kentucky College of Law. After serving as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky from 1987 – 1991, Caldwell became the youngest in the nation to head the Office of U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky at age 35. She was nominated by former President George Bush as one of eight women in the nation and the first woman in Kentucky to serve as a U.S. Attorney.

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 a Transylvania trustee since 2001, Karen has served as a member of the Alumni Executive Board, the president of the Bluegrass Area Alumni Club, and as an adjunct professor. She has given and helped raise money for several projects, including establishment of an endowed scholarship fund for students to study abroad. Transylvania University has honored Karen as a recipient of the Distinguished Services Award, as a nominee at National Philanthropy Day, and as the commencement speaker for the Class of 2005.

Marcetta York Darensbourg - Union College

Dr. Marcetta York Darensbourg is a native of Artemus, Kentucky in Knox County. She received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Union College in Barbourville and her doctorate in inorganic chemistry from the University of Illinois in Urbana. Dr. Darensbourg currently resides in College Station Texas and is a professor at Texas A & M University where she directs the Marcetta Y. Darensbourg Research Laboratories. In addition to her undergraduate and graduate course offerings, Marcetta has served as a research advisor to nearly 40 doctoral students and numerous undergraduates. She goes out of her way to make sure students are exposed to national meetings and visiting scientists, including Noble Prize winners, and continues to be a mentor to many students long after graduation.

Dr. Darensbourg has served as a foreign lecturer and published over 140 research papers, including an article in Nature, a premier international scientific journal, in 2005. She has received several awards for her work in inorganic chemistry including the American Chemical Society Award for Distinguished Service in the Advancement of Inorganic Chemistry. She served on a panel that developed the “Hydrogen Storage Think Tank” report commissioned by the U.S. Department of Energy to discuss potentially new and promising hydrogen storage technologies.

Dr. Darensbourg attributes much of her success as a scientist and an educator to her experience at Union College. Union college honored Dr. Darensbourg with its inaugural Distinguished Alumni Scholar Award.

William T. Robinson III - Thomas More College and the University of Kentucky College of Law

William T. Robinson III, a resident of Erlanger, Kentucky in Kenton County, is a graduate of Thomas More College and the University of Kentucky College of Law. He currently serves as managing partner of Greenebaum, Doll & McDonald, PLLC, managing the firm’s Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati offices.

As a student at Thomas More, he was instrumental in the founding of the Thomas More Chapter of Phi Alpha Delta International, a professional society for pre-law students, which continues to thrive today. Mr. Robinson began his practice of law in 1971 and continued to be very involved at Thomas More, as a member of the campus community and of the Thomas More Alumni Association. He serves as a college trustee and is very influential in fundraising for the college.

Mr. Robinson has served Kentucky as the president of the Board of Directors of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, member of the National Conference of Community and Justice in Greater Cincinnati, member of the Board of United Way of Greater Cincinnati, an advisory trustee of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, vice chair for Economic Development for the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce, chair of the Partnership for Greater Cincinnati, and founding board member of CINCY-TECH USA, the new economy initiative of the Cincinnati Chamber. He was a founding board member of the Tri-County Economic Development Corporation, which has spearheaded the economic renaissance of Northern Kentucky since 1987.

Mr. Robinson has been recognized with a number of distinguished awards and distinctions including Best Lawyer in America for five of the last nine years. He was presented the Governor’s Economic Development Leadership Award in Kentucky in 1997, and was given the Distinguished Alumni Award by Thomas More College in 1982.

(Thanks to CPE and Transylvania PR staffs for providing content for this post. The CPE press release is available here. Full bios of award winners are here . The full Transy release on Dr. Fosl is here.)

Columnist Byron Crawford traces how a brain injury helped lead Transylvania University alum and attorney Jim Chambliss to new careers in fine art and brain research. Read the full article in today’s Courier-Journal here.

Crawford describes how Chambliss’s life changed after his brain injury in 1998:

It was as if the damaged left side of his brain had somehow shifted focus to an enhanced right-brain concentration on a hidden talent for artistic expression.

By 2001, with help from his neuropsychologist, family and friends, the Brain Injury Trust and vocational rehabilitation, he had enrolled in art school at the University of Louisville, from which he earned a master’s degree.

Although his work has since earned several awards and international recognition, his Kentucky State Fair first-place award for the self-sculpture inspired by his brain injury marked a memorable transformation from lawyer to artist for Jim Chambliss.

And it has reinforced his passion for unraveling part of the complex mystery of how injured brains often awaken a sleeping gift of artistic creativity.

Now, with a prestigious International Postgraduate Research Scholarship to the University of Melbourne, Chambliss is working toward a combined doctorate in creative art and medicine.

His ongoing research into the influence of epilepsy, bi-polar conditions, multiple sclerosis and other brain disorders on art has become more than an academic pursuit.

“I feel compelled to help others in similar circumstances,” he said. “I want to use my art, research and experiences to serve as a catalyst to promote further research.”

Allen Eskridge is Kentucky’s Assistant Secretary of State. A graduate of Owensboro High School and Transylvania University, he’s currently pursuing a PhD in higher education policy at the University of Kentucky. He is the former president of the Transylvania Bluegrass Alumni Board and currently represents the independent colleges and universities on the Kentucky Inter-Alumni Council. His wife is a Centre College graduate who works at Georgetown College. Allen recently took time to share his thoughts on the importance of Kentucky’s independent sector, the independents’ legacy of service, and why he remains so interested in and involved with independent higher education.

Without the solid educational foundation provided by my experience at Transylvania University, I would not be where I am today. Kentucky’s independent colleges provide academic and social environments that foster the growth of the whole individual. Through small class sizes, individual attention from professors, civic and community engagement, and opportunities to become involved in campus activities, the value of an education at Kentucky’s independent colleges cannot be overstated. In my continuing educational pursuits as well as my professional career, I would not be nearly as prepared to meet each day’s challenges were it not for my experience at Transylvania.

Today, Transylvania is still a large and active participant in my life. Through my association with the university, I continue to make new friends and gain opportunities to serve the community and the Commonwealth. It is this continuing relationship that I find so valuable, and that is why I believe it is so important to give back to the institution that keeps giving to me.

The role of community leader and service oriented partner is one that independent colleges like Transylvania cherish. Kentucky’s independent colleges have strong histories of acting as havens for social discussion and evaluation; and, sometimes, those campuses along with their students act as agents of social change. By advancing each community they serve, Kentucky’s independent colleges enrich the Commonwealth’s population by providing unique solutions for unique communities.

That tradition of community service is one that fascinates me, and it is the reason for my interest and commitment to continuing my education at the University of Kentucky. As a student in higher education policy and evaluation at the University of Kentucky’s school of education, I have the opportunity to interact with top scholars who recognize the value of educational resources provided by Kentucky’s independent colleges and universities.

In my experience, there is a close relationship and strong need for public and private cooperation. The provision of higher education in the Commonwealth is no exception to that rule. That is why I am so pleased to act as the Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities’ (AIKCU) representative to the Inter Alumni Council (IAC). The IAC brings together alumnae from every public institution and provides for representation of the independent colleges through AIKCU.

Every member of the IAC is committed to promoting a culture of learning throughout the Commonwealth. As a group, we work to harness the resources of individual campuses towards common goals. To that end, representation of the independent colleges and universities is a great challenge because there is so much that we do for Kentucky, and each story needs to be told. It is an honor to be the representative of so many diverse institutions who mean so much to the students, families, and communities that they serve.

Click here to see profiles of other independent college and university alumni who are giving back to the Commonwealth. Know an alum who should be featured? Let us know.