Transylvania Pioneers

Transylvania University

Seal of Transylvania University
Motto	In Lumine Illo Tradimus Lumen (Latin)
Motto in English	In That Light, We Pass On The Light
Type	Private nonprofit
Established	1780
Religious affiliation	Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Endowment	$168.9 million
President	Seamus Carey
Students	1,110
Location	Lexington, Kentucky, U.S. 38°03′08″N 84°29′37″W / 38.0522°N 84.4936°W / 38.0522; -84.4936Coordinates: 38°03′08″N 84°29′37″W / 38.0522°N 84.4936°W / 38.0522; -84.4936
Colors	Crimson
Athletics	NCAA Division III – HCAC, OAC
Nickname	Pioneers
Mascot	Pioneers
Affiliations	NAICU
Website	www.transy.edu

Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. It was founded in 1780, making it the first university in Kentucky and among the oldest in the United States. It offers 36 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Transylvania's name, meaning "across the woods" in Latin, stems from the university's founding in the heavily forested region of western Virginia known as the Transylvania Colony, which became most of Kentucky in 1792. Transylvania is the alma mater of two U.S. vice presidents, two U.S. Supreme Court justices, fifty U.S. senators, 101 U.S. representatives, 36 U.S. governors, and 34 U.S. ambassadors, making it a large producer of U.S. . Its medical program graduated 8,000 physicians by 1859. Its enduring footprint, both in national and southern academia, make it among the most prolific cultural establishments and the most storied institutions in the South.

Transylvania was the first college west of the Allegheny Mountains, and was named for the Colony of Transylvania, Latin for across the woods, which aimed to educate good citizens.Thomas Jefferson was governor of Virginia when the Virginia Assembly chartered Transylvania Seminary in 1780. Called Transylvania University by 1799, its first sponsor was the Christ Episcopal Church's rector, the Reverend Moore. The school later became affiliated with the Presbyterian Church. Originally situated in a log cabin in Boyle County, Kentucky, the school moved to Lexington in 1789. The first site in Lexington was a single building in what is now the historic Gratz Park.