Everything Nac

Dr. Richard Jones, professor of theatre at Stephen F. Austin State University, was named president of Alpha Psi Omega National Theatre Honor Society earlier this spring, bringing nationwide attention to SFA and its School of Theatre.

An APO advisor at various universities off and on for 15 years, including the past six for SFA’s Beta Phi cast, Jones will now preside over the organization’s annual meeting. He is also responsible for reviewing nominations for honorary memberships and determining scholarship recipients, among other duties.

Jones believes that his appointment as national president is, in part, “a validation” of his work as a faculty member and an APO advisor over the years, but even more so, it is about what SFA’s Beta Phi cast has accomplished: a series of Presidential Service Awards and two national scholarship winners since he’s been advisor.

“Obviously, having my name and institutional affiliation on the Alpha Psi Omega website doesn’t do us any harm,” Jones said, “and, since the annual meeting of APO is held at the Southeastern Theatre Conference (the largest theatre conference in the country), I’ll now be attending SETC on a regular basis, giving us further visibility.”

APO casts operate differently at different universities, Jones explained. Some are simply honorary, in that you earn membership and a line on a resume.

“Others, like SFA’s cast, are much more active as service organizations,” he said. “For our students, becoming a member serves mostly as an opportunity to do more work: to plan events, ranging from an ice cream social early in the fall to the end-of-year banquet, to house manage or run the box office for Downstage productions, or to assist with community events like the Little Princess Tea Party or at Millard’s Crossing.

“Recently, the Beta Phi cast has averaged more than 50 volunteer service hours per member per year,” Jones said. “I’m sure this level of service was instrumental in APO being named the Small Organization of the Year at this year’s ODK awards.”

Jones’ first association with APO came the summer between his senior year in high school and freshman year in college, he said. “I had done a (very) little theatre in high school, but I had no intention of making a career of it,” he said. “But that summer, a friend was working on a production at the local college, and they needed someone to play a small part, so I did it, mostly as a favor to her. But I also got introduced to a number of students in the college program, and they all talked about their cast of Alpha Psi Omega.

“My undergrad college didn’t have a cast, so my next association was when I took over the theatre program at Union College in Kentucky in 1979,” Jones said. “I was essentially a one-person department, so I pretty much automatically became the APO advisor. Then I was the founding sponsor for the cast at Cornell College in Iowa. When I came to SFA in 2001, Allen Oster was the advisor to APO. The student members asked me to replace him after his retirement, and, of course, I was pleased to do so.”

Jones earned a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College, master’s degree from the University of Birmingham, U.K., and a doctorate from the University of Kansas. Previous teaching includes full-time positions at Union College in Kentucky and Cornell College in Iowa, plus graduate assistant or adjunct positions at Cornell University, New York; Colby-Sawyer College, New Hampshire; the University of Kansas, and Emporia State University, Kansas. He’s taught a variety of subjects, from Eastern Civilizations to Stagecraft and Lighting to Journalism Practicum. But he considers himself as primarily a theatre historian with a specialty in Irish theatre.

Jones has published articles, chapters and reviews on a wide range of theatre-related topics, and he was a Summer Scholar at the NEH Summer Institute “What is Gained in Translation” at Kent State University in 2015. At SFA, his normal teaching rotation consists of a two-course sequence in theatre history, beginning and advanced courses in play analysis, beginning directing, and topics courses (including a biennial study-abroad trip to Ireland). He received SFA’s 2007 Teaching Excellence Award for the College of Fine Arts and was named Faculty Mentor of the Year at last year’s Undergraduate Research Conference.

Jones has directed more than 40 plays since graduating from college, including 19 at SFA. He is an active member of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education and of the Professional Advisory Board of the Department of Theatre at the University of Kansas.

Christopher Talbot, director of the School of Art at Stephen F. Austin State University, announced the recipients of SFA and Friends of the Visual Arts scholarships for the 2017-18 academic year and other awards at the recent opening of the 34th Annual Art Alliance Spring Show. More than $35,000 in scholarships was awarded.

Recipients and their scholarships and other awards presented included:

• Emily Buckland, Grapevine sophomore, awarded a Patricia Roberdeau Mast Scholarship.

• Bailey Crow, Pinehurst freshman, awarded a Patricia Roberdeau Mast Scholarship.

• Delaney Hahn, incoming freshman, awarded a Regents Scholarship for housing.

• Sarah Bone, incoming freshman, awarded a Regents Scholarship for housing.

• Gabriela Alejandra Hijar Soto, Creel, Mexico, graduate student, awarded the Piero Fenci Scholarship for Ceramic Arts.

• Jacqueline Morales, Plano senior, and Jacob Moffett, Hockley junior, share the Eloise Chambers Adams Art Scholarship.

• Tristan Brewster-Arnold, Cleveland senior, awarded the Charles D. Jones Art Scholarship and John and Doris Daniel Art Scholarship.

• Sarah Clark, Cypress sophomore, awarded the Diane, Casey and Court Fouts Art Scholarship.

• Katherine Daniel, Haslet sophomore, awarded the Elsie Arscott Art Scholarship.

• Korey Burns, Grayson, Louisiana, graduate student, awarded the Gary Parker Art Scholarship.

• Shelby Locklin, Southlake freshman, awarded the Gary Q. Frields Art Scholarship.

• Sherry Snowden, Nacogdoches junior, awarded the Art Alliance Scholarship.

• Austin Cullen, Cypress sophomore, awarded the Melba Cranford Memorial Art Scholarship.

• Jimmy Don Snowden, Nacogdoches graduate student, awarded the Snyder Family Art Scholarship.

• Sarah Jentsch, Etoile junior, awarded the Brian Philip Joseph LaBarbera Memorial Art Scholarship, the Debbie Simpson/Terry Miller Memorial Art Scholarship, the Stephen Weeks Memorial Art Scholarship and the Ed and Gwen Cole Dean’s Award in Art.

• Chris Wicker, Nacogdoches junior, awarded the W.H. and Bennie Atkinson Gray Scholarship.

• Katie Liller, Cypress sophomore, awarded the Robert Kinsell Art Scholarship.

• Ethan Donart, incoming freshman, awarded the Friends of the Visual Arts Incoming Undergraduate Scholarship.

• Alex Morris received the E. Diane Ford Art Education Award.

• Jamal Cole, Nacogdoches junior, received the Emily R. Hargraves Art Award.

• Randi Vinson Davis of Henderson, who graduated in December 2016, was chosen the Karl Schlicher Outstanding Art Graduate for 2016-17.

The Art Alliance student organization at Stephen F. Austin State University recently held its 34th Annual Spring Art Show in the School of Art galleries. Forty-four art students entered 82 works.

Benito Huerta, distinguished artist and juror of Texas National 2017, juried the show. He chose 60 works for inclusion.

The winners Huerta selected included Shelby Locklin, Southlake freshman, first place for “Corvid,” ceramics and glass; Bailey Crow, Pinehurst freshman, second place, for “Lines” and “Morning Sun,” archival inkjet prints; and Sarah Jentsch, Etoile junior, third place, for “In the Morning,” oil on canvas.

Honorable mentions went to Michelle Filer, Nacogdoches junior, for “Clock Work,” oil on canvas; Laminda Miller, Gladewater graduate student, for “Rest in Peace Wren,” ceramic; Sharon Robinson, Nacogdoches graduate student, for “Released from Quarantine!,” mid-range ceramic stoneware; Selena Rodriquez, Baytown junior, for “Nude Study,”oil on canvas; and Javier Vega, Nacogdoches graduate student, for “Infinitum,” audio installation.

Each winner received a cash prize.

Stephen F. Austin State University employees were recently honored for their years of service to the institution during the 33rd annual Staff and Retiree Recognition Award Ceremony.

10 Years

Honorees recognized for 10 years of service included, front row, from left, Iris Nell Jones, Residence Life; Dixie Groll, College of Liberal and Applied Arts; Rosie Waters, Physical Plant; Walter de la Cruz, Social Work; Michael Paul Doggett, Residence Life; Lonnie Luna, Steen Library; Zeferina Gonzalez, Residence Life; Laura Turner, Disability Services; Sam Smith, Student Center; H. Rachele Garrett, Financial Aid; Alison Reed, Early Childhood Lab; Janet McLeroy, Admissions; Veronica Brishay Weaver, Multicultural Affairs; Jessica Barrett, Budget Office; Ines Esperanza Maxit, International Programs; Travis Killen, Information Technology Services; and Bill Cox, Admissions.

Pictured, back row from left: Judy Eddings and John Wyatt, Human Resources; William Croft, Information Technology Services; Ronald Smith, Student Affairs; and Allen Singleton, Physical Plant.

Also honored, but not shown, were Brittany Beck, Admissions; Kelley Consford, Campus Recreation; Sara Cole, Cathrine Dodge and Heather Stewart, Education; Ann Hall, Financial Aid, Aleta Spivey, Human Resources; Charlotte Sullivan, Office of the President; Richard Luna, Forestry; Amy Smith, Student Rights and Responsibilities; Joan Taylor, Center for Teaching and Learning; Patrick Brazeal and Donna Hammond, Residence Life; Jamie Bouldin, Student Affairs; Amy Maurer, Controller’s Office; Sandra Menscer and Stephen Rasmussen, Telecommunications and Networking; and Jesse Raymond Bell, Jo Ann Fields, Erik Green, Santiago Orozco, Jonathan Ramey and Jody Russell, Physical Plant.

20 Years

SFA employees honored for 20 years of service included, from left, Kreg Mosier, Steen Library; Beverly Denise Douglas, Disability Services; Gloria Hoefler-Johnson, Language, Cultures and Communication; Shana Scott, Geology; Louann Williams; Early Childhood Laboratory; Dora Fuselier, SFA Controller; Mark Holl, Physical Plant; and Robert Michael Judy, Education.

Also honored, but not pictured, were Dawn Stover, Agriculture; William Harris, College of Liberal and Applied Arts; Rebecca Crain, English and Creative Writing; and Tina Layton, Parking and Permits.

30 Years

Anita Beavers, a 30-year employee in SFA’s Department of Biology, was honored recently for her years of service to SFA. She is pictured with SFA President Baker Pattillo. Other employees honored for 30 years of service included physical plant employees Rodney Bryant and Gary Don Williams.

President’s Achievement Award

Four SFA employees received the President’s Achievement Award in recognition of outstanding achievement and excellent service. Pictured with SFA President Baker Pattillo, center, are Wayne Weatherford, Agriculture; Anne Uhyrek, Controller’s Office; Ann Foster, Procurement; and Diane Stepp, Registrar’s Office. Employees are nominated by their colleagues to receive the award.

Retirements

Staff members retiring from SFA also were honored for their service to the university. Pictured, from left, are George Ellis, University Police Department; Valerie Griffith, Budget Office; Billie Baggett and Glenda Herrington, Human Resources; Kathryn Scott, Nursing; Belinda Vanglahn, College of Education Assessment and Accountability; Lori Jill Hines, SFA Charter School; Lagena Carver, Graduate Studies; Rusti Allen, Pineywoods AHEC; and Don Frazier, Student Center Administration.

Also retiring are Diana Boubel, Procurement; Lynn Clark, Biology; Nelda Frederick, Human Sciences; James Ellis Kendall and Evelyn Pierce, Library; Stephen McGee, Information Technology Services; Rosemary Juarez, Nursing; Carrie Brown, Research and Sponsored Programs; Gary Steve Cobb, Residence Life Operations; Mark Overton, UPD; and Loyce Baxter, David “Mo” Mohundro, Everett Allen Ross Jr., Anthony Wade and Bobby Westmoreland, Physical Plant.

The SummerStage Festival at Stephen F. Austin State University will present a fun and funny children’s musical and an emotionally powerful American classic play in its 2017 summer theatre season.

This year’s SummerStage Festival is slated for June 27 through July 15 with performances in W.M. Turner Auditorium and the Downstage Theatre. Both venues are in Griffith Fine Arts Building on the SFA campus. This year’s plays are “Ivy + Bean the Musical” and “The Miracle Worker,” and the festival is sponsored in part by Tipton Ford Lincoln.

Launched in 2014 to take the place of the traditional Summer Repertory Theatre season, SummerStage is designed to provide less formal, fun and easy-going live theatre experiences for East Texas audiences, according to Dr. Rick Jones, interim director of the SFA School of Theatre.

“Our summer season is designed so that people in the community not only can bring the entire family, but that they’ll want to do so,” Jones said. “The ‘Ivy + Bean’ series of books is extremely popular in elementary schools, and the musical promises to be, as well. ‘The Miracle Worker’ is one of the most beloved plays in American theatre, having been staged by hundreds of professional companies, community theatres and academic theatres.”

“Ivy + Bean the Musical,” with book, music and lyrics by Scott Elmegreen and based on books by Annie Barrows as illustrated by Sophie Blackall, invites the audience to come meet quiet Ivy, who has amazing ideas, and outgoing Bean, who loves to put ideas into action. The mischievous second-grade heroines of The New York Times best-selling stories will be plotting their exploits onstage in this lively musical, according to Angela Bacarisse, SFA professor of theatre and the play’s director.

Known as the director of the smash hit “Spamalot” and the summer kids’ favorites “The Emperor’s New Clothes: The Musical,” “How I Became a Pirate” and last year’s “A Year With Frog and Toad,” Bacarisse said that when “Ivy + Bean the Musical” comes to life on Turner stage, there’s “mischief and laughter at every turn – along with lessons to be learned about the challenges and joy of family, friendship and love.”

“We are working with local libraries to feature readings of the ‘Ivy and Bean’ book series to go along with the performances,” Bacarisse said. “It has always been important to me that reading be incorporated in the summer children’s musical, beginning with ‘How I Became a Pirate.’ Each story is an adventure on its own, and then the kids get to see them come to life on the stage.”

The festival also features “The Miracle Worker,” a three-act play by William Gibson based on Helen Keller’s autobiography, “The Story of My Life.” Keller, a young deaf and blind girl trapped in a world of darkness and silence, meets Annie Sullivan, an unorthodox and brilliant teacher. Despite the numerous challenges both face, Annie ultimately becomes the miracle worker who helps Helen unlock a world of possibilities, according to Dr. Inga Meier, assistant professor of theatre and the play’s director.

Meier made her directorial debut at SFA with last summer’s hilarious “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” a witty comedy by actor, screenwriter and stand-up comic Steve Martin. “The Miracle Worker” will have a very different effect on this year’s SummerStage audiences.

“Most people today, a century and a half after her birth, have heard of Helen Keller, a deaf and blind pioneer in the worlds of disability rights and social justice,” Meier said. “We know who she was. What ‘The Miracle Worker’ shows us (and what makes the play so timeless) is how, with the help of Annie Sullivan, she persevered in the face of those challenges to become that person, and that story is one that continues to inspire.”

“Ivy + Bean the Musical” will be presented in Turner Auditorium at 10 a.m. July 1 and 6; at 2 p.m. July 5, 8 and 13; and at 6:30 p.m. July 1, 8 and 14. General admission tickets are $7.50.

“The Miracle Worker” will be presented in the Downstage Theatre at 7:30 p.m. June 27 and 29 and July 6, 7, 11, 12 and 13; and at 2 p.m. July 15. General admission tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and $7.50 for students/youth.

Ticket sales begin Monday, May 15. For tickets or more information, visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.

Throughout the semester, Stephen F. Austin State University students enrolled in a project management course in the Rusche College of Business engaged in a collaborative project with industry professionals.

Dr. Rajat Mishra, assistant professor in SFA’s Department of Management, Marketing and International Business, tasked students with creating a project as if they were implementing their plans in real life. Projects ranged from building a food truck business and assisted-living home to revamping Ritchie Street Park in Nacogdoches.

Mishra divided the class into groups, which were then paired with an industry professional to serve as a mentor. The project mentors included AJ Dhakal, senior lead mechanical engineer at Schlumberger in Houston; Rob McCaughey, district sales manager for Southeast Texas at ArcBest; Eloy Fernandez, SFA alumnus and food cart business owner in Austin; and Dr. Randy Napier, senior industry consultant and professor at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Not only did the mentors provide SFA students with guidance throughout their project development, but they also conducted guest lectures during the semester.

“These professionals bring their experience and expertise into the classroom, which helps bridge the gap between academia and the real world,” Mishra said. “Students learn professionalism and the practical aspects of business by working alongside these professionals. Through discussion and trial and error, students learn how to adapt in business situations.”

At the end of the semester, students presented their work to their mentors, classmates, and additional College of Business faculty and staff members.

Project Management 470 is open to all majors. Mishra explained the course acts as a capstone-like course that allows students to practice a variety of skills they learned throughout their undergraduate career. Project mentors have interviewed several students and have offered them summer internships and full-time job opportunities.

Dr. Tim Bisping, dean of the Rusche College of Business, said Mishra’s approach to teaching project management “provides extremely valuable experiences for our business students.” He added the course is an “excellent example of the experiential learning opportunities the college values, and it fits perfectly with our student-centered mission.”