Everything Nac

Skillfully carved into a fishhook, the Hei Matau bone necklace dangles around his neck making a simple yet profound statement. At first glance, it seems out of place — a natural artifact juxtaposed against his business attire — but after a quick conversation with Dr. Tim Clipson, professor at Stephen F. Austin State University, the meaning of the symbolic ornament is revealed.

“I wear this necklace to represent the fact that I’m hooked. I’m hooked on my faith, family, friends, fun, food and being fearless,” Clipson said.

While presenting research in Hawaii two years ago, Clipson discovered the hook necklace in a store and asked a local what it symbolized.

“He said if you wear it, you’ll catch a lot of fish. I don’t fish much, but I love the water,” Clipson said. “I researched it more and found the Hei Matau had a deeper meaning.”

Hei Matau originated from the Māori of New Zealand and represents strength, good luck and safe travel over water. Being a sailor, Clipson adopted the necklace as part of his wardrobe and decided to name his sailboat Matau.

At the end of May, Clipson will be spending more time on the open water as he enters his retirement after 36 years of service to SFA.

“I often say being a university professor is by far one of the best jobs anyone could have. It has allowed me to fulfill what I believe I was called to do,” Clipson said. “My personal mission is to do as much good for as many people as I possibly can in my life. Teaching became the vehicle to live my mission. Whether in public school, at the university or in corporate training, I have been blessed to help others during my life as a teacher.”

Prior to joining SFA in 1981, Clipson taught public school at the junior high and high school levels. He also is president of a corporate leadership company, Leadership Is For Everyone (LIFE!).

During his tenure at SFA, Clipson has held the ranks of assistant professor, associate professor and professor in the Rusche College of Business’ Department of Business Communication and Legal Studies where he teaches specialized courses on executive leadership. Recently, Clipson was named professor emeritus for the Department of Business Communication and Legal Studies.

“Dr. Clipson’s innovative undergraduate and graduate courses on executive leadership have been highly sought after and widely acclaimed by current and former students,” said Dr. Marsha Bayless, chair of the Department of Business Communication and Legal Studies at SFA. “Successful alumni serving on our department and college advisory councils comment on the courses’ value to their careers and inspiration to their personal lives.”

Clipson developed many of the courses he has taught at SFA as well as the training development course and leadership courses for the College of Business. He views his classrooms as non-threatening learning laboratories where students aren’t afraid to make mistakes.

“I believe the more students enjoy the learning experience the more they tend to take away from the classroom,” Clipson said. “The toughest thing about retirement is thinking about leaving the classroom.”

Clipson may be embarking on a new journey, but his contributions to SFA will have a lasting impact on future generations.

Since 1998, Clipson has served as the SFA 101 Freshman Success coordinator. SFA 101 is a specially designed course introducing new students to life at SFA. With approximately 75 sections offered a year, SFA 101 has served thousands of students and is proven to raise GPA and college retention.

“An outstanding experience for me was helping build the SFA 101 program and seeing how it has made a positive difference in the lives of thousands of young people. I’ve also enjoyed working with the program instructors and staff members,” Clipson said.

Additionally, Clipson has served as chapter president of the international business honor society Beta Gamma Sigma for 16 years and is currently the Alpha Tau Omega national president.

His accolades include the Meada Gibbs Outstanding Teacher-Scholar Award for the Association for Business Communication, Outstanding Educator Award in 2016 for the Federation of Business Disciplines, Distinguished Paper Award for the Association for Business Communication-Southwestern United States, Teaching Innovation Award from the Rusche College of Business, Marlin C. Young Teaching Excellence Award, SFA Teaching Excellence Award and Distinguished Professor.

“Dr. Clipson is the epitome of sincere dedication to his students, colleagues, SFA, the profession and all who come in contact with him,” Bayless said. “His impact has been and is tremendous, and his profound influence enduring.”

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Mast Arboretum was buzzing with activity recently as thousands of elementary school students participated in the 20th annual Bugs, Bees, Butterflies and Blossoms program on the university’s campus.

From learning about the life cycle of trees to holding decomposers, more than 3,000 elementary school students from across East Texas participated in this collaborative program in which SFA elementary education students teach environmental science through hands-on activities.

“SFA students have gained a tremendous amount from this hands-on experience, including confidence for teaching environmental science,” said Dr. Alan Sowards, co-founder of the BBBB program and professor in SFA’s Department of Elementary Education. “Students learn the importance of collaboration and classroom management, as well as the importance of seeking community partners and resources to assist them in their classroom teaching, regardless of the subject area.”

The benefits of the BBBB program are twofold. Sowards said the participating school districts gain a great resource to help engage their students in science activities in the outdoors and also gain a greater appreciation for the beauty of nature firsthand.

There were daily morning and afternoon sessions. To help celebrate the program’s 20th year, SFA hosted a luncheon and reception for representatives from various state and local agencies, organizations, and university administrators and local teachers in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building in the Pineywoods Native Plant Center.

Following the luncheon, teachers had the opportunity to attend a Project Learning Tree professional development workshop where Misty Bowie, Texas coordinator for PLT, and John Boyette of Texas A&M Forest Service delivered a presentation.

“This training helped teachers learn how to facilitate environmental education lessons in their classroom,” Sowards said. “Each teacher received a PLT activity manual and certificate.”

Sowards recalled how this event began as an idea between him and Dr. Cheryl Boyette, education consultant, in 1997.

“We developed and implemented this program together from the very beginning,” Sowards said. “We have collected research about this program, published articles from our research, and presented at state, national and international conferences.”

Additionally, John Boyette has assisted in training SFA students in the Project Learning Tree curriculum, and Elyce Rodewald, SFA Gardens environmental education coordinator, has assisted in many ways, including scheduling schools to attend, serving as a liaison with the public/private schools, and providing resources and training. Dr. Paula Griffin, coordinator of SFA’s online completer’s program, has added another dimension to the program by involving SFA online students.

“The past 20 years have gone by so fast. I am most proud of the quality of students I have been blessed to work with through the years,” Sowards said. “SFA has the best education program and students in the state. They have met my highest expectations as future teachers and will do well in wherever they teach.”

The BBBB program originally ran for two days; however, due to high demand, BBBB has grown into a weeklong event.

“I am thankful for the many partners and colleagues who have worked with us,” Sowards said. “I’ve observed first-grade elementary students participate in BBBB 20 years ago, and then had those same students enroll at SFA and teach at BBBB while in college. Now, those SFA students have become teachers in the area and bring their own students to BBBB. The program has come full circle.”

Event sponsors included Project Learning Tree, Keep Nacogdoches Beautiful, Texas A&M Forest Service, SFA’s Department of Elementary Education, the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, and SFA Gardens.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Department of Government will hold a panel and roundtable discussion at 7 p.m. May 2 in Dugas Liberal Arts North Room 102. The panel is titled “Civic Education in the 21st Century: Implications for Democracy, Representation and Liberty.”

The panel will feature Dr. Chapman Rackaway, professor of political science and interim dean of the Graduate School at Fort Hays University, and Dr. Matthew Newton, assistant professor of government at Lone Star College-Kingwood. Dr. Donald Gooch, assistant professor in SFA’s department of government, and Dr. Steve Galatas, associate professor of government, will also join the roundtable discussion.

“The panel will discuss civic education in America,” Gooch said. “We’ll be touching on the general state of civic knowledge, civic efficacy and civic participation in America, explanations why these essential characteristics of citizens in a democratic republic are so lacking in America today and possible advancements and solutions for the future.”

Both Gooch and Rackaway recently published books on civic education in America. Rackaway’s 2017 book Civic Failure and its Threat to Democracy: Operator Error discusses the problematic nature of the relationship between American citizens and their government.

Civic Education in the 21st Century: A Multidimensional Inquiry, a collection edited by Gooch and Michael T. Rogers that features essays from Rackaway, Galatas and others, introduces problems inherent in civic education in America and possible ways to help improve civic education and engagement.

“We hope the panel provides a number of opposing viewpoints about civic education and citizenship,” Gooch said. “Including how we, as educators, can help promote an environment of civic engagement and provide our students with the skills to actively participate in a representative democracy.”

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, email Gooch at goochdm@sfasu.edu

Stephen F. Austin State University elementary education students enrolled in Dr. Lauren Burrow’s courses and a local Girl Scout created a free mini-library outside of Brooks-Quinn-Jones Elementary School to promote literacy in the community. [/caption]Stephen F. Austin State University elementary education students are helping promote literacy throughout the Nacogdoches community by creating a free mini-library outside Brooks-Quinn-Jones Elementary School.

“We’ve been working with BQJ on several student-driven projects the past few semesters,” said Dr. Lauren Burrow, SFA assistant professor of elementary education. “After talking with BQJ staff members about how SFA students can be more involved, we discovered the school’s interest in literacy initiatives. They had heard about mini-libraries and asked us if we could do something similar. We said, ‘Sure,’ and went bigger with it.”

The mini-library, known as the Brooks-Quinn-Jones BookJoy Benches and Book Box, was a collaborative project between Burrow, SFA students and a local Girl Scout, Maya Tanner, who made the library her bronze project and constructed the book box.

The book box resembles a large mailbox and is stocked with a variety of children’s books. SFA students collected more than 500 books for the mini-library. Several benches also were secured and placed on the front lawn of BQJ to create an inviting reading area.

“The point is for people to come take a book, read it and keep it as long as they want. You could keep it in your home forever if you wanted. That’s the great thing about it — there are no due dates, fines or fees,” Burrow said.

Many of Burrow’s students have been working with BQJ elementary students on a plethora of projects, all of which culminated with the recent grand opening of the mini-library. For example, SFA students researched lesser-known historical figures and wrote original children’s books about the figures to share with the elementary students. BQJ students helped illustrate the books.

Additionally, SFA students taught BQJ children poetry and had them write their own poems, which also were published in a book. Both of these books were some of the first to be placed in the mini-library.

During the library’s grand opening, SFA students hosted a BookJoy event with games, crafts and activities for BQJ students.

“BookJoy was a great event because it gave us ideas on what a lesson could be and how we could incorporate learning into different activities,” said Ben Dickey, Austin junior and early childhood through sixth grade education major. “Also, the library is a great resource for students. A lot of students hang out here during the summer to play on the playground, and now they will be able to read, too.”

This project was funded in part by Burrow’s service learning mini-grant.

The exhibition “Pollinators of the World” will show May 4 through 20 in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

“Pollinators of the World” is curated by Charles Jones, director of the LaNana Creek Press at Stephen F. Austin State University, and Dr. David Kulhavy, Lawrence C. Walker Distinguished Professor in the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, SFA.

International in scope, the exhibition features art from United States, Costa Rica, South Korea, Jamaica, Russia and the Czech Republic. Its purpose is to highlight the role of pollinators around the world.

“The recurring theme of bees, hummingbirds and bats indicate the significance and importance of these pollinators,” according to Kulhavy. “These pollinators play a vital role in our ecosystems by carrying pollen from plant to plant to carry genetic material for reproduction of flowering plants.”

Artists and student-artists of all levels were invited to create works on paper that reflected important pollinators from their area of the world. Among the submissions to the exhibit are images of bees, bats, birds, moths, butterflies, flies, beetles, lemurs, bush babies and geckos.

“The refreshing styles and varied mediums of the works in the exhibit portray the rich color, texture and vibrancy of this part of our environment,” Jones said.

The exhibit contains work by local artists Piero Fenci and Liz Akamatsu, Corinne Jones, Charles Jones, Peter Andrew, Neal Cox and students from the SFA School of Art. Also represented are block prints of butterflies, bush babies and geckos from young artists from Nová Paka, the Czech Republic. From Jamaica, artists portray pollinating butterflies, hummingbirds and bats in mixed media. From Alapaevsk, Sverdlovskaya region, Russia, artists from the P.I. Tchaikovsky Children’s Art School present color engravings on cardboard of “The Rustle of Wings,” “Dancing on Flowers,” “Velvet Bees” and “Cities of Butterflies.” From South Korea, students portray bees and butterflies in mixed media. Other works come from students from Holy Trinity School, Dallas, presenting bees, bats, hummingbirds and the monarch butterfly.

Jones and Kulhavy included “Pollinator LIVE,” the text of a song on a woodcut print, and woodcuts and poetry quatrains of the “Monarch Butterfly” and the “Zebra Swallowtail” from “A Forest Insect Alphabet” series, LaNana Creek Press.

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

Jillian Daigle, a Stephen F. Austin State University graduate student from Magnolia, has been awarded the Mike Shirley Orientation and Mobility Student Award for 2017.

This award is presented to an orientation and mobility student or consumer who showed extraordinary determination and courage as they endeavored to learn and maintain the skills needed to be an independent traveler to the highest degree possible.

“It means a lot to me to win this award. I am very grateful, blessed and honored,” Daigle said.

During the past eight months, Daigle explained she has had multiple surgeries regarding her vision.

“I have managed with a lot of help and support from my family and wonderful professors at SFA to stay in school during all of this while still holding a 4.0 GPA,” Daigle said.

Michael Munro, director for SFA’s visual impairment and orientation and mobility program, nominated Daigle for the award, which was presented to her at the Texas Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired conference.

“Jillian has shown an awe-inspiring amount of courage during the past year. She is an excellent student,” Munro said. “Amazingly, in spite of several eye emergencies, Jillian has managed to continue her studies at an extremely high level and work toward her goal to serve our field. Her story is one of bravery and fortitude.”

In addition to receiving the award at the TAER conference, Daigle also presented research alongside Michael and Heather Munro, SFA instructor in the Department of Human Services and chair of the orientation and mobility division of TAER. Heather presented Daigle with the award.

“I was genuinely honored to present this award to Jillian. We become close with our students in this program each year, but Jillian has become especially dear to me and our family,” Heather said. “I’ve been able to advise and mentor her, listen to her worries about life after graduation and step in as local ‘family’ when needed.”

Daigle is pursuing her master’s degree in special education with a concentration in orientation and mobility. She plans to graduate in August 2017.

“What drew me to this field of study was when I lost my vision,” Daigle said. “Going through orientation and mobility training changed my life and gave me my confidence and independence back. I want to help others who are going through the same thing.”