Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Office of Multicultural Affairs is accepting proposals from students and faculty, staff and community members who may be interested in presenting at the second annual Women’s Empowerment Summit from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 9 in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Twilight Ballroom.

The summit, which will focus on empowering women from various backgrounds, will feature breakout sessions where attendees will discuss empowerment in areas such as professional development, education, etiquette, health, body image and more.

If you are interested in hosting a breakout session, you should submit a proposal by Feb. 7. The OMA will notify participants of their acceptance status by Feb. 9.

For questions or more information, contact Veronica Beavers, OMA director, at (936) 468-1073 or weavervb@sfasu.edu.

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

Stephen F. Austin State University students in the Rusche College of Business are offering free tax-preparation services through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Clinic.

The services are available to those with an annual income of $54,000 or less, people with disabilities and limited English-speaking taxpayers.

This is the first time the university will offer the clinic on campus and the first time partnering with the Marleta Chadwick Student Financial advisors, which is a student organization that emphasizes financial literacy and smart money management.

Students will be providing tax services from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Jan. 31, Feb. 9 and April 9 at the Chadwick Student Financial Advisors Suite in the McGee Business Building, Room 169, on the university’s campus.

Additional tax services will be offered at the Nacogdoches Goodwill, located at 503 E. Main St. Students will assist taxpayers there on Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to 4 p.m. beginning Jan. 30.

Taxpayers can visit Goodwill from 2 to 6 p.m. Fridays beginning Feb. 2 and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the following Saturdays: Feb. 3, 10, 17 and 24, March 3 and 10, and April 7 and 14.

Kacie Czapla, senior lecturer at SFA and clinic supervisor, teaches an individual income tax course, and many of her students are participating in this experiential-learning opportunity along with the student financial advisors and members of Beta Alpha Psi, an honor organization for financial students and professionals.

“This experience helps students gain a better understating of tax,” Czapla said. “They also interact with community members while providing a much-needed service free of charge.”

For information on what to bring to the VITA clinic, visit https://www.irs.gov/individuals/free-tax-return-preparation-for-you-by-volunteers.

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

A reception with the artist for the exhibition “Junko Chodos: Can We Hear Our Own Voice?” will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 27, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House.

“Junko Chodos: Can We Hear Our Own Voice?” features mixed media pieces and drawings. The artist considers herself “a hypermodern mystic,” and she describes much of her work as “centripetal” in nature, according to John Handley, director of Stephen F. Austin State University Art Galleries.

Handley first encountered Junko’s work while he was at The University of California, Berkley. He said he was immediately attracted to it on many levels: “the abstraction, expressiveness and immediacy of the work, touching on emotional turmoil, hope, fear, spirituality and transcendence.”

“This is not your typical art; it embodies so much about the artist’s life and journey, and I believe the show will inspire artists from all media to think in broader terms about creativity,” Handley said.

The artist will discuss her work, specifically where her art fits into the course of art history, at the reception, which is sponsored in part by the Friends of the Visual Arts, Nacogdoches Junior Forum and The Flower Shop. Doors will open at 5:45 p.m., and the artist talk will start shortly after 6 p.m.

SFA’s downtown art gallery, The Cole Art Center is located at 329. E. Main St. For more information, call (936) 468-1131.

Heaven Umbrell was 10 years old when she helped her grandmother, a gerontologist, conduct research in cemeteries. Years later, Umbrell now brings her children along when she engages in research at Nacogdoches’ historic Oak Grove Cemetery.

Umbrell, a Stephen F. Austin State University history graduate student, is working alongside members of the Friends of Historic Nacogdoches to create an index and map of Oak Grove Cemetery. She also is making a grid map of plots and digitizing written records of the people buried there.

When members of the Friends of Historic Nacogdoches contacted Dr. Perky Beisel, SFA associate professor of history, about some endeavors they hoped to accomplish at the cemetery, Beisel immediately thought of Umbrell.

“This type of work gives graduate students practical experience,” Beisel said. “It also demonstrates what SFA’s Department of History can help accomplish.”

Oak Grove Cemetery was originally named America’s Cemetery. It spans 12.7 acres and contains an estimated 1,000 gravesites. Many gravesites contain the remains of notable historical figures such as Thomas J. Rusk, a political and military leader of the Republic of Texas who served as its first secretary of war and as a general in the Battle of San Jacinto. Rusk was later a U.S. politician and served as a senator from Texas.

Other important historical figures buried at Oak Grove include Dr. Robert A. Irion, who was Sam Houston’s personal physician, and four signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Hundreds of tourists visit the cemetery each year.

An additional goal of the Friends of Nacogdoches is to obtain signage for each gravesite. “My research will give cemetery visitors access to these men and women and help tell their stories,” Umbrell said.

Umbrell expects to complete her portion of research by the end of spring 2018. Friends of Historic Nacogdoches anticipate the full project to be completed by the end of the year.

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

OPEN MEETING NOTICE
Stephen F. Austin State University
Board of Regents and Committee Meetings
Nacogdoches, Texas
Jan. 28-30, 2018
Meeting 314
Austin Building, Room 307

The Stephen F. Austin State University Board of Regents will convene a three-day board and committee meeting according to the following agenda:

SUNDAY, Jan. 28, 2018

5 p.m.

CALL TO ORDER IN OPEN SESSION

Welcome to Newly Appointed Regents

Presentation and Board Action on Agenda Item 1:

1. Approval of the SFA Charter School 2016-17 Audited Financial Statements

EXECUTIVE SESSION

The board will move to executive session for consideration of the following items:

Deliberations Regarding Security Devices or Security Audits (Texas Government Code, Section 551.076)
· Report from interim chief information officer
· Information Technology Audit Security Report

Deliberations Regarding Negotiated Contracts for Prospective Gifts or Donations (Texas Government Code, Section 551.073)

Deliberations Regarding the Purchase, Exchange, Lease, Sale or Value of Real Property (Texas Government Code, Section 551.072)

Consideration of Individual Personnel Matters Relating to Appointment, Employment, Evaluation, Assignment, Duties, Discipline, or Dismissal of an Officer or Employee, including but not limited to the chief information officer, the executive director of enrollment management, the dean of research and graduate studies, the head football coach, the vice presidents, and the president (Gov’t Code 551.074)

Consultation with Attorney Regarding Legal Advice or Pending and/or Contemplated Litigation or Settlement Offers, including but not limited to reported complaints, intellectual property, Geralyn Franklin v. SFASU, and Courtney Christensen v. SFASU (Gov’t Code 551.071).

Estimated adjournment 7 p.m. The board will recess for the evening with no further action expected.

THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF A THREE-DAY BOARD MEETING AND COMMITTEE MEETINGS AGENDA:

MONDAY, Jan. 29, 2018

8 a.m.

RECONVENE BOARD MEETING IN OPEN SESSION

Introduction and Welcome to Newly Appointed Regents

Report: Nacogdoches – SFA Joint Economic Development Committee

Report: Intercollegiate Athletic Advisory Committee

MEETING OF THE BUILDING AND GROUNDS COMMITTEE

(Scheduled at approximately 8:30 a.m.)

Presentation and Committee Action on Agenda Items:

10. Nelson Rusche College of Business Renovation

11. East Austin Street Oncor Easement Agreement

12. Walter C. Todd Agriculture Research Center (SFA Beef Farm) and Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative Easement Agreement

13. Selection of Architectural Firm to Develop Programming and Assessment for Athletic Facilities

14. Approval of Building and Grounds Policy Revisions

Asbestos Removal 13.4

Alcohol Service 13.7

Turner Auditorium 16.30

Report: Current Construction

MEETING OF THE FINANCE AND AUDIT COMMITTEE

(This meeting will convene at approximately 11 a.m. or following the previous committee.)

Report: Investments

Report: Marketing Update

The Board of Regents will recess at approximately 12:15 p.m. The members will have lunch at the Human Sciences Culinary Café. A quorum is expected to be present but no action will be taken. The meeting will reconvene at approximately 2 p.m.

Presentation and Committee Action on Agenda Items:

15. Acknowledge Receipt of Audit Services Report

16. Under Armour Sponsorship Agreement

17. Athletic Ticketing System

18. Human Sciences Mobile Food Laboratory

19. Catalog and Curriculum System

20. Budget and Financial Forecasting System

21. Changes in Course Fees for FY 2018-19

22. Facilities and Services Fee Creation and Fee Consolidation

23. Designated Tuition, Facilities and Services Fee, and Student Services Fee Increases for FY 2018-19

24. Designated Tuition Fixed-Rate Tuition for FY 2018-19 Entering Students

25. FY 2018-19 Room and Board Rates

26. Oracle Exadata Purchase

27. Approval of the 2016-17 Annual Financial Report

28. Resolution to Acknowledge Review of the Investment Policy and Strategy

29. Resolution to Approve Qualified Financial Institutions and Investment Brokers

30. Grant Awards Ratification

31. Approval of Financial Affairs Policy Revisions

Historically Underutilized Businesses 17.7

Investments 3.21

Investments – Endowment Funds 3.20

Professional and Consulting Services 17.12

Purchase of Electronic and Information Resources 17.16

Purchase Requisition 17.19

Purchase Voucher 17.20

Risk Management 13.19

Report: Statutory Contract Report

MEETING OF THE ACADEMIC AND STUDENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

(This meeting will convene at approximately 4 p.m. or following the previous committee.)

Report from the Deans:

Dean of the Nelson Rusche College of Business

Dean of the James I. Perkins College of Education

7. Human Sciences Degree Program Modification

8. Approval of Intellectual Property Assignment

9. Approval of Academic and Student Affairs Policy Revisions

Academic Appeals by Students 6.3

Academic Unit Head Appointments 4.2

Animals on University Property 13.2

Class Attendance and Excused Absence 6.7

Disposition of Abandoned Personal Property 13.6

Electronic Personnel Action Form 11.8

Employee Training 11.11

Employment of Persons with Criminal History 11.12

Honorary Degree 5.12

Performance Management Plan 11.20

Retirement Programs 12.15

Security Sensitive Positions 11.25

Temporary Employment 11.28

Textbook Adoption Timeline 10.1

Time Reporting for Non-Exempt Employees 11.30

Workers Compensation Coverage 12.23

Estimated adjournment of committee at 5 p.m.

EXECUTIVE SESSION (Scheduled at approximately 5 p.m.)

The board will move to executive session for consideration of the following items:

Deliberations Regarding Security Devices or Security Audits (Texas Government Code, Section 551.076)
· Report from interim chief information officer
· Information Technology Audit Security Report

Deliberations Regarding Negotiated Contracts for Prospective Gifts or Donations (Texas Government Code, Section 551.073)

Deliberations Regarding the Purchase, Exchange, Lease, Sale or Value of Real Property (Texas Government Code, Section 551.072)

Consideration of Individual Personnel Matters Relating to Appointment, Employment, Evaluation, Assignment, Duties, Discipline, or Dismissal of an Officer or Employee, including but not limited to the chief information officer, the executive director of enrollment management, the dean of research and graduate studies, the head football coach, the vice presidents, and the president (Gov’t Code 551.074)

Consultation with Attorney Regarding Legal Advice or Pending and/or Contemplated Litigation or Settlement Offers, including but not limited to reported complaints, intellectual property, Geralyn Franklin v. SFASU, and Courtney Christensen v. SFASU (Gov’t Code 551.071).

Estimated adjournment 7 p.m. The board will recess for the evening with no further action expected.

THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF A THREE-DAY BOARD MEETING AND COMMITTEE MEETINGS AGENDA:

Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018

9 a.m.

RECONVENE BOARD MEETING IN OPEN SESSION

Swearing In Ceremony for Newly Appointed Regents

Special Recognitions

Board Action on Agenda Item 2:

2. Approval of Minutes for Oct. 20, 2017 and Oct. 22-23, 2017 Meetings

Presentation and Board Action on Personnel Items 3 – 6:

3. Faculty Appointments

4. Staff Appointments

5. Changes of Status

6. Retirements

Committee Reports and Board Action:

Academic and Student Affairs Committee (Report and Board Action on Agenda Items 7 – 9):

7. Human Sciences Degree Program Modification

8. Approval of Intellectual Property Assignment

9. Approval of Academic and Student Affairs Policy Revisions

Academic Appeals by Students 6.3

Academic Unit Head Appointments 4.2

Animals on University Property 13.2

Class Attendance and Excused Absence 6.7

Disposition of Abandoned Personal Property 13.6

Electronic Personnel Action Form 11.8

Employee Training 11.11

Employment of Persons with Criminal History 11.12

Honorary Degree 5.12

Performance Management Plan 11.20

Retirement Programs 12.15

Security Sensitive Positions 11.25

Temporary Employment 11.28

Textbook Adoption Timeline 10.1

Time Reporting for Non-Exempt Employees 11.30

Workers Compensation Coverage 12.23

Building and Grounds Committee (Report and Board Action on Agenda Items 10 – 14):

10. Nelson Rusche College of Business Renovation

11. East Austin Street Oncor Easement Agreement

12. Walter C. Todd Agriculture Research Center (SFA Beef Farm) and Deep East Texas Electric Cooperative Easement Agreement

13. Selection of Architectural Firm to Develop Programming and Assessment for Athletic Facilities

14. Approval of Building and Grounds Policy Revisions

Asbestos Removal 13.4

Alcohol Service 13.7

Turner Auditorium 16.30

Finance and Audit Committee (Report and Board Action on Agenda Items 15 – 31):

15. Acknowledge Receipt of Audit Services Report

16. Under Armour Sponsorship Agreement

17. Athletic Ticketing System

18. Human Sciences Mobile Food Laboratory

19. Catalog and Curriculum System

20. Budget and Financial Forecasting System

21. Changes in Course Fees for FY 2018-19

22. Facilities and Services Fee Creation and Fee Consolidation

23. Designated Tuition, Facilities and Services Fee, and Student Services Fee Increases for FY 2018-19

24. Designated Tuition Fixed-Rate Tuition for FY 2018-19 Entering Students

25. FY 2018-19 Room and Board Rates

26. Oracle Exadata Purchase

27. Approval of the 2016-17 Annual Financial Report

28. Resolution to Acknowledge Review of the Investment Policy and Strategy

29. Resolution to Approve Qualified Financial Institutions and Investment Brokers

30. Grant Awards Ratification

31. Approval of Financial Affairs Policy Revisions

Historically Underutilized Businesses 17.7

Investments 3.21

Investments – Endowment Funds 3.20

Professional and Consulting Services 17.12

Purchase of Electronic and Information Resources 17.16

Purchase Requisition 17.19

Purchase Voucher 17.20

Risk Management 13.19

Reports:

President

· Upcoming Dates

· Student Regent Applications

· Student Appointment to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

· Lone Star Legislative Summit

Faculty Senate

· Senate Forums

· Academic Excellence

· Faculty Accomplishments

Student Government Association

· Extended Library Hours

· Parking Committee

· SGA Progress

· Spring Goals

Report from Nominating Committee and Election of Board Officers 2018-2019
ESTIMATED ADJOURNMENT OF BOARD MEETING

(approximately 11 a.m.)

Grace Linebarger, a Stephen F. Austin State University undergraduate communication studies major from Flower Mound, learned her research paper has been accepted for presentation during the Southern States Communication Association Annual Conference to be held April 4 through 8 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Her paper titled “Global Media and Soft Power Representation: A Comparative Analysis of Indian Tourism as Experienced Personally and as Represented in The New York Times and Travel Channel” discusses the different ways in which India is represented in various media settings.

“There is this idea of ‘soft power’ in communication studies that expresses a nation or culture’s unconscious influence,” Linebarger said. “I wanted to see how India portrayed itself in comparison to how it was portrayed in the media.”

Linebarger traveled to India through a study abroad trip in spring 2017 with Dr. Sudeshna Roy, an SFA assistant professor in the Department of Languages, Cultures and Communication, and Dr. Aryendra Chakravartty, an SFA assistant professor of history.

While in India, Linebarger quickly noticed that her expectations of India, which she had formed through media influence, greatly differed from her real-life experiences.

When Linebarger began research for her independent study with Roy in fall 2017, Linebarger decided to focus on the disparity she had witnessed, which led to her research paper.

“I put so many hours into this project, and it’s amazing that I was selected from among so many other talented and hardworking scholars who submitted projects, as well,” Linebarger said.

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