Everything Nac

Recent gender-based social movements, including #MeToo and #TimesUp, will give added weight to the Stephen F. Austin State University Office of Multicultural Affairs upcoming third annual Women’s Empowerment Summit, slated for Friday, March 8, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Twilight Ballroom.

Veronica Beavers, OMA director, said that while organizers did not directly address the movements in planning for the event, these and other similar themes will be mentioned in keynote addresses and various breakout sessions.

“The summit was created to empower women and educate the community on women’s issues,” Beavers said. “During this summit, we invite participants to develop relationships with others who strive to make an impact, learn professional development skills, discuss current issues for women today, learn how to improve personal wellness and much more. Regardless of gender, everyone can benefit from this summit.”

The event will host two keynote speakers, Binta Brown and Victoria White.

Brown is a dual career and recruitment consultant at the University of Texas at Austin where she spearheads the SmartHire program, a campus search committee that assists with the recruitment and selection process for executive or hard-to-fill positions. She will present “Navigating the Evolution of Work: The Gig Economy” to open the summit.

White holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communication and public relations. She worked in the nonprofit sector for six years as a victim rights advocate and is now a college admissions counselor. White will discuss leadership in its various forms as the summit’s lunch speaker.

Event check-in will begin at 8:30 a.m. March 8. The opening keynote presentation will begin at 9 a.m. followed by a breakout session at 10 a.m. The lunch keynote will take place from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and will be followed by two more breakout sessions. Presenters are a mix of faculty, staff and community members.

The event is free and open to the public. Lunch is provided, but seats are limited. Registration can be completed online at sfasu.edu/oma. The deadline to register is March 4.

By Christine Broussard, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

The combined choirs and orchestra at Stephen F. Austin State University will present “War and Peace” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 9, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

Conducted by Dr. Michael Murphy, director of choral activities at SFA, the masterwork concert features Franz Joseph Haydn’s “Mass in Time of War” and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Dona Nobis Pacem.”

“The subjects of war and peace have always occupied the great themes of literature and music,” Murphy said. “From the Old Testament and the epic stories of Homer and Virgil down to the writings of many 19th and 20th century authors like Walt Whitman and Wilfred Owen, the emotional and physical turmoil of war and the hope of peace emerge as leading preoccupations of the human race.

“As in literature, war and peace in music is often conveyed either through the glorious exploits of conquests or the realistic brutality that war brings to all,” he said. “That stark duality is explored in our concert.”

Murphy directs SFA’s A Cappella Choir; Dr. Todd Fish, associate director of choral activities, directs the Men’s Choir and Women’s Choir; and Dr. Pierre-Alain Chevalier, visiting director of orchestral activities, directs the Orchestra of the Pines.

Soloists include voice faculty members Prof. Debbie Berry, Prof. Nita Hudson, Dr. Ric Berry, Dr. Scott LaGraff and Dr. Chris Turner.

Prior to the concert, a lecture will be presented at 6:30 p.m. in the Griffith Art Gallery (FA 208) by Dr. Samantha Inman, assistant professor of music theory, and Dr. Jamie Weaver, associate professor of music history. The gallery is located across the hall from Turner Auditorium.

The concert is a joint presentation of the College of Fine Arts and School of Music.

Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.