Everything Nac

As a marketing coordinator and camp counselor for middle school girls, Maxine McFadden knew uprooting her life to pursue a degree wasn’t an option. However, thanks to a new online degree program at Stephen F. Austin State University, she can now work toward her educational goals.

Recently, SFA launched a completely online bachelor’s degree in human sciences with an emphasis in human development and family studies. For McFadden and other nontraditional students this program is a perfect fit.

“Being enrolled in this online program has helped me continue to work full time while providing me with the flexibility of going to school on my time,” McFadden said. “I didn’t have to uproot my family to go to school. I was able to remain in Tyler and continue my everyday life.”

Through this program, students learn to become “caretakers of our society,” said Dr. Rachel Jumper, assistant professor in SFA’s School of Human Sciences. Students learn to understand the growth, change and development of children, adults and the family while integrating a lifespan, multi-contextual and family systems approach.

“The best part is I still get one-on-one help from my professors because of virtual office hours,” McFadden said. “My biggest concern about the online program was that I wasn’t going to be able to get the personal attention I needed. I was very wrong about that.

“I work 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and it is hard to work full time and go to school. The online program has given me freedom to work on school work when it is convenient for me, but it still gives me strict deadlines,” she said.

Along with the new program, SFA has partnered with Tyler Independent School District Head Start to offer a place for SFA students in the Tyler area to conduct observation and volunteer hours, which are requirements of the program.

Upon graduation, students have a variety of career options, including becoming early intervention specialists, lobbyists, directors of child care and senior citizen facilities, Head Start teachers, parent educators, camp directors and more.

“The most valuable lesson I have learned from this program is to not give up. You always have someone in your corner cheering you on and helping you,” McFadden said. “Everyone in the program cares about children and their families and graduating quality people from this program.”

To learn more, visit sfaonline.info/human-development-and-family-studies.

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

Stephen F. Austin State University’s DeWitt School of Nursing is partnering with East Texas Community Health Services to provide free flu vaccinations, blood glucose testing, cholesterol screening and blood pressure readings Oct. 10 through 14 at the Piney Woods Fair.

Students from the fourth semester nursing class will be set up in the Expo Center from 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday; 3 to 10 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Flu shots will be offered by East Texas Community Health Services as long as supplies last. In the event of a shortage, vouchers will be handed out for free flu shots at the clinic.

“It’s a great opportunity for our nursing students to get a sense of community and community nursing,” said Dr. Della Connor, SFA associate professor of nursing. “They spend quite a bit of time in the hospital and outpatient-type settings during their careers as student nurses, and this helps them experience preventative measures in a non-typical setting.”

Senior nursing student Karli Butler, a team leader for the event, is volunteering at the fair to put to use the skills she has cultivated in the School of Nursing.

“We are excited to serve our community by providing opportunities to give vaccinations and health screenings and educate the public about living healthier lifestyles,” Butler said.

For more information about the School of Nursing, visit sfasu.edu/academics/colleges/sciences-math/nursing.

By Joanna Armstrong, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

The Department of Mass Communication at Stephen F. Austin State University received notification from Grad School Hub that its online master’s degree has been ranked the most affordable program in the nation.

Grad School Hub compiled the list to provide graduate students and higher education faculty members with information regarding high-quality accredited graduate programs, according to its website. Its mission is to provide people who are interested in attending graduate school with all the resources they need to make a good decision about the type of degree that is right for them and to help them explore the options in that degree program.

Among the 30 programs Grad School Hub evaluated for affordability, SFA outranked other schools, including the University of Alabama and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

“Our online master’s degree meets market demand by allowing students to pursue their degree without having to attend a brick-and-mortar building during a time in their life when that often is not an option,” said Dr. John Hendricks, chair of the Department of Mass Communication at SFA.

According to Hendricks, SFA’s online master’s degree program in mass communication has experienced a 443-percent enrollment increase during the past five years, which speaks to the program’s focus on meeting market demand for journalists and public relations professionals.

“With the rapid changes in technology and our changing world, we are seeing more and more professionals return to college to complete a graduate degree,” Hendricks said. “Our program is taught by faculty members who also have worked in the industry. They understand what’s needed in today’s workforce and are dedicated to ensuring that our program’s graduates receive the education they need to advance in their careers.”

For more information on SFA’s mass communication department, visit www.sfasu.edu/masscomm/.

By Emily Brown, marketing communications specialist for Stephen F. Austin State University.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s campus recreation and alumni association will host the ninth annual Homecoming 5K beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, on the SFA campus near the new Ed and Gwen Cole STEM Building located off Clark Boulevard.

The event brings together students, alumni, faculty and staff, and community members to raise money for SFA scholarships and celebrate this year’s Homecoming theme, “Decades.” The 3.1-mile course winds through the beautiful SFA campus and along the paved trails of the SFA Gardens’ Tucker Woods, the arboretum and Lanana Creek Trail. This year “virtual runners” also will be able to participate.

“Supporters don’t have to live in the Nacogdoches area to join in the fun,” said Katie Blevins, campus recreation promotions and sponsorship coordinator. “Anyone can be a virtual runner or walker and complete a 5K course in his or her hometown. This allows participants to show their purple pride during SFA’s Homecoming week celebration from any location at any time during Homecoming week.”

Participants are encouraged to register before Oct. 12 to guarantee a race T-shirt. The student registration rate is $15, the faculty, staff, alumni and virtual runner rate is $25, and the community member rate is $35. A 1-mile option also is available for $5 but does not include a T-shirt. T-shirts may be purchased for an additional $10. Registration also is available on race day beginning at 4 p.m.

“This year we are encouraging participants to dress in costume and enter the #SFA5K Costume Contest,” Blevins said. “The contest will offer an individual costume category, as well as a team category. We hope friends, family members and coworkers will dress in purple to show their SFA spirit, or as a favorite TV or movie character from the past, present or future to celebrate the decades theme.”

The Homecoming 5K is a family and dog friendly event. Winners in each category will be recognized during an awards ceremony after the race.

For more information, or to register or become a sponsor, visit sfasu.edu/campusrec.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture will host NacogdoTREES, a free community-wide contest celebrating the natural beauty of Nacogdoches, from Oct. 1 through Nov. 16.

“The goal of NacogdoTREES is to highlight the importance of urban and community trees, raise awareness of their ecological benefits, introduce the community to the field of forestry and encourage citizens to spend time outdoors,” said Sarah Fuller, outreach coordinator for SFA’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture.

The competition includes categories for largest tree circumference, largest crown, tallest tree, best shade tree and best overall tree. Prizes will be awarded for each category. Faculty members developed videos to teach some basic forestry measurements, including tree height and crown spread. The videos are available on the competition’s web page to guide participants through the process.

“Keep in mind that it’s not just all about numbers and measurements,” said Dr. Shelby Laird, assistant professor of forestry at SFA. “The best overall tree may be the tree with the best story, the most fans or simply just the most beautiful. We really hope NacogdoTREES encourages people to visit some of our amazing city parks and the SFA campus.”

The competition also will serve as a learning opportunity for beginning forestry students at SFA. Students enrolled in Laird’s careers and competencies in forestry course will execute the required technical measurements to determine the winners in each category. Laird said she also hopes the competition will provide insight into what specifically endears individuals to certain trees and provide baseline data for future research.

Trees eligible for submission must be located on the SFA campus, properties managed by Nacogdoches Parks and Recreation or on the entrant’s personal property. For competition guidelines, an entry form, a list of prizes, area maps and resources, visit forestry.sfasu.edu/nacogdotrees/.

Concert pianist Kevin Ayesh will perform at Stephen F. Austin State University at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, in Cole Concert Hall as part of the SFA Friends of Music Concert Series.

Ayesh, who has presented concerts and master classes throughout the United States as well as in Canada, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and Hong Kong, will present a varied program featuring the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, Johannes Brahms, Gabriel Fauré and Frédéric Chopin.

Among the works on the program are Beethoven’s popular Sonata in C Minor, Op. 13 (the “Pathetique”), Chopin’s majestic late Sonata in B Minor, Op. 58, and some lesser known “caprices” by Viennese-born American composer Robert Starer, who was a faculty member at the Juilliard School from 1949-1974.

Ayesh has taught music at Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock, North Carolina, since 1992. As a North Carolina visiting artist for four years, he appeared before thousands across that state, performing as many as 50 recitals in a season.

He is a recipient of the Naftzger Piano Award and Baltimore Music Club Award and winner of both the JCC Baltimore Piano Competition and the Maryland State Music Teachers’ Elizabeth R. Davis Memorial Piano Competition. Ayesh was awarded second prize at the Wideman International Piano Competition and won both third prize and composer’s prize at the New Orleans International Piano Competition.

This past summer, Ayesh was a guest artist at the Lindlar International Piano Festival in Germany, and he has recently served as a recitalist and clinician for the Gene Marcus Piano Festival at Purdue University-Fort Wayne in Indiana, the Star Valley Junior Music Festival in Wyoming, and the USA Piano Camp at the University of South Alabama.

According to Dr. Andrew Parr, professor of piano at SFA, Ayesh will present a master class for SFA student pianists in Cole Concert Hall at 10:30 a.m. the same day as the concert. The class is open to the public and free of charge.

Cole Concert Hall is located in the Tom and Peggy Wright Music Building, 2210 Alumni Drive.

Concert 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.