Everything Nac

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre will present the one-act play “Postponing the Heat Death of the Universe” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 5, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 6, in the Downstage Theatre on the SFA campus.

Written by Stephen Gregg, “Postponing the Heat Death of the Universe” is directed by Longview junior Bethany Trauger. The play is about the conversation that ensues between two people after one loses a scholarship contest to the other. “Hours ago, Nick lost a scholarship contest. Now he’s lying motionless in a dark room, and when Jackie, the winner of the contest, arrives to give him her condolences, she finds his behavior a little bizarre,” the synopsis reads.

The cast includes Royce City junior Bayley Owen as Nick; Arlington sophomore Sadie Mae Taylor as Jackie; and Lufkin sophomore Britney Day as Stacy. Stage manager is Hawkins junior Allie Smith, and assistant stage manager is Edinburg freshman Makayla Moreno.

Trauger is a junior theatre major with an emphasis in directing and an interest in dramaturgy. She has previously directed “Hanging On” by Claudia Haas, and she was dramaturg for the musical “Oklahoma!”

Faculty production advisor for “Postponing the Heat Death of the Universe” is Rosie Brownlow-Calkin.

Tickets are $4. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit theatre.sfasu.edu.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s James I. Perkins College of Education recently recognized several faculty members as the college’s Teaching Excellence Award honorees.

Annually, representatives are selected from academic units within each of SFA’s six colleges to receive Teaching Excellence Awards. Then, each college selects one academic unit faculty member to represent his/her college at the university’s annual Teaching Excellence Convocation.

The Teaching Excellence Awards recognize outstanding full-time faculty members who demonstrate extensive knowledge of subject matter, quality lectures and assignments, enthusiasm for teaching, and interest in and availability to students. Commitment to continuous improvement and contribution to the quality of teaching at SFA by assisting and encouraging other faculty members also are considered.

Honorees in the James I. Perkins College of Education include Dr. Mark Montgomery, assistant professor in the Department of Elementary Education; Heather Samuelson, dance program co-coordinator and assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science; Dr. Karen Embry Jenlink, professor in the Department of Secondary Education and Educational Leadership; Dr. Luis Aguerrevere, associate professor in the Department of Human Services; and Leisha Bridwell, merchandising and interior design program coordinator and associate professor in the School of Human Sciences. Among the honorees, Montgomery was selected to represent the Perkins College of Education at the university’s Teaching Excellence Convocation, which will be held in April.

“Being at this university and seeing so much great teaching, and faculty and administration support, makes me want to be better,” Montgomery said. “I don’t know that there is any other career in the world that has as much power as teaching, and my hope is that I use that power for good.”

The college also recognized Dr. Robyn Whitehead, visiting assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science, as the Faculty Senate Teaching Excellence honoree for nontenure-track faculty members.

By Kasi Dickerson, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

A few years ago, a group of Stephen F. Austin State University students coined the term “Scanlanomics” in recognition of one of their favorite economics professors, Dr. Mark Scanlan.

Today, Scanlan continues to challenge and encourage students in the Rusche College of Business by making economics fun.

Through an online prediction game, Fredcast, developed by the Federal Reserve Bank, students predict four key economic variables: the unemployment rate, level of payroll employment, real gross domestic product growth rate and consumer price index inflation rate. The game then scores the students’ predictions and ranks participants after the real data is available. Students compete with each other to see whose prediction is most accurate.

Taking this activity to the next level, Scanlan challenges students to sharpen their research and presentation skills by designating a day each month for them to meet in the conference room in the McGee Business Building to discuss their predictions.

“These meetings are intended to simulate a business environment where students are encouraged to learn from and disagree with one another in a professional setting,” Scanlan said. “Students explain their predictions and reasoning. Then, they debate the influence recent events in the economy should have on the predicted variables.”

The Rusche College of Business has supported Scanlan’s Fredcast activity by pledging $500 in scholarship funds to the top-ranked participants. Scanlan was recently recognized with a Bright Spot award by the SFA Faculty Senate, the Center for Teaching and Learning, and the SFA vice presidents.

Scanlan has been a member of the SFA faculty since 2005. His goal in class is to make the material “meaningful, interesting and relevant for students.”

Scanlan invites banking guest lecturers to visit his class and discuss different topics the students have learned in his money and banking course. This collaboration has given students an opportunity to network with and learn from professionals in the field.

“These speakers are highly ranked banking officials who talk with students about how the concepts we learned are implemented in their banks,” Scanlan said. “Students have enjoyed learning from respected industry practitioners about the ways they actually deal with the issues we discuss in class.”

Dr. Mikhail Kouliavtsev, chair of the Department of Economics and Finance, said students praise Scanlan for his enthusiasm for economics and his teaching style.

“Many students express that Mark is not only great at delivering difficult material and making it relatable, but also caring, understanding and accessible,” Kouliavtsev said. “Every semester, there are at least a handful of student comments on class evaluations declaring Mark to be the best professor, and that is no small feat for someone teaching economics.”

For more information about SFA’s Rusche College of Business, visit sfasu.edu/business.

By Kasi Dickerson, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.