Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University’s local Beta Gamma Sigma chapter in the Rusche College of Business won the Highest Honors achievement from the BGS board for its Collegiate Chapter Honor Roll.

BGS is an organization with approximately 600 chapters across 190 countries. The program grants awards to active collegiate chapters that demonstrate their membership’s involvement in BGS activities and events.

The recognition is based on a stringent point system that includes service projects, speaker events, leadership and more. There are three levels of achievement: Honors, High Honors and Highest Honors.

Cathy Henderson, Rusche College of Business BGS sponsor, attributes the award recognition to the high organization participation rates of SFA students.

“Collegiate chapters need at least an 85 percent acceptance rate and must participate in many events that equate to earned points,” Henderson said. “We have nearly a 100-percent acceptance rate, and our top students are engaged and eager to be involved. This adds value to our organization and specific projects, but it also earns us points, which leads to the highest designation possible within the BGS organization.”

SFA’s chapter earned points for participation in events that included the Rusche College of Business Passport Program, Toys for Tots, hurricane relief efforts and speaker engagements.

As part of SFA’s Highest Honors achievement, one SFA student will be chosen and receive free registration to represent the university during the annual Global Leadership Summit, which takes place in November 2018.

For more information regarding the BGS, visit betagammasigma.org.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art and the Friends of the Visual Arts will present a free, one-night screening of “I Am Not Your Negro” at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

Written by James Baldwin, directed by Raoul Peck, and featuring the voice of Samuel L. Jackson, “I Am Not Your Negro” is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights movement to the present of #BlackLivesMatter, according to information at iamnotyournegrofilm.com.

Master filmmaker Peck envisions the book that Baldwin never finished, “Remember This House.” The result is a radical, up-to-the-minute examination of race in America, using Baldwin’s original words and archival material.

The film questions black representation in Hollywood and beyond. And, ultimately, by confronting the deeper connections between the lives and assassinations of Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., this work by Baldwin and Peck “challenges the very definition of what America stands for,” the website states.

“I Am Not Your Negro” was an Academy Award nominee for 2016 Best Documentary Feature. The film is rated PG-13 for violent images, thematic material, strong language and brief nudity.

This screening is part of the School of Art’s monthly Friday Film Series and is sponsored in part by William Arscott, Nacogdoches Film Festival, Karon Gillespie, Mike Mollot, David Kulhavy, Brad Maule, John and Kristen Heath, Galleria Z, Jill Carrington, Jean Stephens, Jim and Mary Neal, Richard Orton, Nacogdoches Junior Forum and Main Street Nacogdoches.

The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St. For more information, call (936) 468-1131.

Voice faculty members at Stephen F. Austin State University will perform the songs of Ned Rorem in a recital at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 5, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

“Ned Rorem: The Art of Song” will highlight the works of “the most prolific composer of art song since Franz Schubert,” according to Dr. Ron Petti, director of accompanying for the SFA School of Music.

“He has written several hundred songs since the mid 1900s,” Petti said. “His songs are performed throughout the world in concert halls and universities, and many have been recorded as well.”

Rorem is also an author and has written several articles and books on various musical topics.

“I always think vocally,” Rorem writes. “Even when writing for violin or timpani, it’s the vocalist in me trying to get out. Music is, after all, a sung expression, and any composer worthy of the name is intrinsically a singer, whether he allows it or not.”

Recital performers include Petti, piano: Dr. Ric Berry, tenor; Debbie Berry, soprano; Nita Hudson, mezzo soprano; Dr. Garry Leonberger, tenor; Emily Milius, soprano; and Chris Turner, baritone. Milius will also give a short talk to begin the concert.

The recital is part of the School of Music’s Calliope Concert Series. 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.

Touching on topics such as best practices for teaching students of poverty and a somatic approach to embracing diversity, Stephen F. Austin State University’s Office of Multicultural Affairs will host its fourth annual Diversity Conference from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9, on the SFA campus.

“Our theme has changed to ‘Embracing Diversity: Are We Really Listening?’” said Veronica Beavers, OMA director. “Many times, we fail to listen to other’s perspectives. During this year’s conference, we really want to challenge participants to actively listen to each other in order to grow personally and professionally.”

SFA faculty and staff members and students will offer 15 presentations on topics ranging from social issues, multiculturalism, religion, gender identity and more. SFA jazz band students will perform during lunch.

In previous years, the conference has been held on a Saturday. It was moved to a Friday this year to encourage and accommodate more participants.

“The Diversity Conference seeks to provide a platform for presenters to share their diversity-related work with conference attendees and engage in vital multicultural dialogue,” Beavers explained. “It is hosted by OMA, and the OMA Caucus, which comprises SFA faculty and staff members from many different departments, helps plan and coordinate the event.”

This year’s presenters are predominantly from the SFA campus and Nacogdoches communities. Attendees, however, come from all around Texas.

“We also have our second annual Diversity Museum during the conference,” Beavers said. “We are currently accepting submissions for this museum. We also offer continuing education units for the conference through the School of Social Work. Everyone can gain something by attending the conference.”

Registration will open at 8:30 a.m. To guarantee a lunch, preregister by Friday, Feb. 2. The public and campus community are invited, and the conference is free to attend.

For more information, to register or to apply for the Diversity Museum, visit sfasu.edu/multicultural/190.asp.

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

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture will host an East Texas GIS and GPS user group meeting beginning at 10:30 a.m. Feb. 2, in Room 117 of the Forestry Building.

Speakers will address a wide range of geospatial applications and advancements, including GIS field apps used by the City of Nacogdoches and the use of drones in natural resources education at SFA. The event is free and open to the public. Surdex, a corporation that is among the largest digital orthophotography, GIS mapping and geospatial service providers in North America, will sponsor lunch, and a Surdex representative will present an update of East Texas aerial photography acquisition.

The purpose of the East Texas GIS and GPS user group is to bring together users at any level in public, private and educational sectors who are interested in geospatial technology. For more information, contact Dr. I-Kuai Hung at hungi@sfasu.edu or (936) 468-2464