Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University’s College of Sciences and Mathematics will present its third annual Women in STEM Luncheon and Style Show at noon Tuesday, April 4, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Grand Ballroom. Doors open at 11:30 a.m.

The luncheon is an effort to raise funds to create scholarships for women who are majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines at SFA.

“America is experiencing a significant under-representation of women who select STEM majors and persist to enter STEM or STEM-related careers,” said Dr. Kimberly M. Childs, dean of SFA’s College of Sciences and Mathematics. “Although women comprise approximately 48 percent of the U.S. workforce, they hold less than 25 percent of STEM jobs.”

This year’s Women in STEM luncheon will feature a gallery walk and poster presentation of STEM research performed by female SFA faculty members and students. Researchers will attend the poster presentation, and visitors are encouraged to talk with researchers before the luncheon.

During the luncheon, female keynote speakers will discuss their experiences with STEM research and careers. Selected men will escort female role models during the style show to help emphasize the importance of having men support women in STEM disciplines.

“Last year’s luncheon generated enough funds to provide three $5,000 scholarships to young women enrolled in SFA’s College of Sciences and Mathematics,” Childs said. “We hope this year’s luncheon will generate even more donations to fund more scholarships, which is our goal each year we organize the Women in STEM event.”

The Town House and Miller’s Point will provide the fashions for this year’s event.

The 2017 Women in STEM Luncheon and Style Show is sponsored by J.E. Kingham Construction Company and Kristi Owens, vice president and wealth management advisor with Merrill Lynch.

For more information about the event, including ticket and table reservations, email Kim Carmona, project coordinator for the College of Sciences and Mathematics, at kdcarmona@sfasu.edu.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s dance program and Repertory Dance Company will showcase senior choreographic works and company pieces during its production of Danceworks: Deviation, which premieres at 7 p.m. April 20 in the Norton H.P.E. Complex, Room 201, on the university’s campus.

A second showing is scheduled for 7 p.m. April 21 with a final performance set for 3 p.m. April 22.

As the theme suggests, the production will feature a spectrum of choreography, including jazz, modern, hip-hop and more. Heather Samuelson, co-coordinator of SFA’s dance program and assistant professor of dance, explained this production is the program’s first time to feature hip-hop.

“This year’s show is full of dances we haven’t offered to the public before, so it will be a different experience for audiences,” Samuelson said. “It’s a really fun show.”

The production will feature six senior choreographic works and choreography from two dance faculty members and two guest artists, each with a different theme.

Guest artist Tonya Reed Simon, who is known for her work with artists such as Nelly, worked with SFA students to choreograph a hip-hop dance for the production. Additionally, guest artist Jo Byrnes collaborated with SFA students to choreograph a contemporary piece for Danceworks. Sarah Sanchez, an SFA adjunct faculty member, will present a ballet folklórico piece.

As part of their degree requirements, SFA seniors in the dance program must create a choreographic piece and present it.

“Danceworks provides our students opportunities for performance for their degree and it better prepares them for teaching or auditioning,” Samuelson said. “It helps get them ready to go out into the real world and secure jobs as dancers, teachers, choreographers or performers.”

Students in a production course taught by Haley Hoss Jameson, co-coordinator of SFA’s dance program and associate professor of dance, will work backstage during the production to help with lighting, quick changes and additional crew work. Overall, approximately 55 people are involved in the show.

Tickets cost $5 for students, $8 for faculty and staff members, and $10 for general admission and can be purchased at the door. Funds raised from ticket sales will be used to offset production costs and help recruit future guest artists. SFA’s dance program and the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science are sponsoring the production.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Department of History will host Phi Alpha Theta’s regional conference for Northeast Texas from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 1, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center. The conference is part of Phi Alpha Theta’s national drive to provide venues for graduate and undergraduate students to present their research in a professional environment.

Conference participants include 44 students and 12 faculty members representing 10 institutions. Throughout the 12 conference sessions, students will present their original research. The conference sessions will be held in the student center’s Regents’ Suite A and the Ladyjack, Pine Log, Stone Fort and Tejas conference rooms.

“Undergraduate research is a staple of high-impact practices and leads to transformative learning experiences,” said Dr. Mark Barringer, chair and associate professor in SFA’s Department of History. “But the key to engineering such learning experiences is providing a professional venue for students to present their work to other historians.”

The SFA chapter of Phi Alpha Theta’s regional conference is part of the honor society’s 34 other regional conferences being held around the nation.

“We’re glad to host this year’s conference at SFA,” Barringer said. “We hope the experience enriches the students presenting at the conference and that it helps them refine their research for publication. We also look forward to showcasing the craft of historical research.”

This event is free and open to the public.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Office of Multicultural Affairs will kick off its annual Diversity Week Monday, April 3. The week will feature social and educational programs demonstrating the value of diversity and multiculturalism and creating meaningful dialogue in the SFA community.

The Diversity Week kickoff event will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Plaza and will feature a diversity canvas, where students are encouraged to help paint a mural showcasing SFA’s diversity.

“We hope the canvas helps create a sense of unity within the SFA community,” said Veronica Weaver, director of SFA’s OMA. “We invite students from all walks of life to participate because our diversity is our strength, and we hope this canvas will serve as a symbol to remind all of us that we are stronger together.”

OMA has several other events slated for Diversity Week.

OMA Peace Meal

OMA’s annual Peace Meal is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 4, at the Yellow House Christian Student Center, located at 201 East College St. OMA invites SFA students and faculty, staff and Nacogdoches community members to break bread with each other.

“The Peace Meal invites people to come together and discuss topics that concern us all,” said Dr. Griselda Flores, assistant director of OMA. “We hope the Peace Meal pulls the veil from how we view our everyday world and allows us to find where we connect. It is our hope that the dialogue continues after the meal.”

The OMA Peace Meal will feature guest speaker Hoan Do, a student success coach, author of “Succeeding in the Real World” and competitor on NBC’s hit show “American Ninja Warrior.” The International Examiner also recognized him as one of the best youth mentors in the nation.

This event is free and open to the public, but donations are welcome. Proceeds benefit the Romani Relief Project, which helps the Romani in Romania break the cycle of generational poverty.

Microaggressions Workshop

Cherry Steinwender, the executive director and co-founder of the Center for the Healing of Racism, co-author of the seminar “Dialogue: Racism” and author of “Bread is a Simple Food: Teaching Children about Cultures,” will lead OMA’s Microaggressions Workshop at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 5, in the student center’s Tiered Classroom.

Throughout the workshop, Steinwender will discuss and help define microaggressions: the casual, common and unintentional ways ethnic and religious minority groups, as well as the socioeconomically disadvantaged, are marginalized in societies around the globe.

“Microaggressions are difficult to understand and even more difficult to address,” Weaver said. “We hope this workshop will help people understand what microaggressions are and how they marginalize the people they affect. We also hope it will provide students and SFA community members the tools they need to eliminate microaggressions and learn how cultural differences enrich the fabric of the world.”

This event is free and open to the public.

Salsa Magic

To conclude Diversity Week, the OMA will present Salsa Magic at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 6, in the student center plaza.

OMA urges SFA students and faculty, staff and Nacogdoches community members to join them to listen and learn to dance to salsa, merengue, bachata, reggaeton and today’s hits.

Lee “El Gringuito” and Kat “La Gata,” an international dance duo specializing in the bachata, will lead Salsa Magic. They will be offering instruction and pointers as they teach participants the basics of Latin dance.

This event is free and open to the public. In the event of rain, Salsa Magic will be moved to the student center’s Regent’s Suite A.

For more information about these events or Diversity Week in general, visit OMA’s website at sfasu.edu/oma, or email OMA@sfasu.edu.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Department of History will present a public lecture featuring Dr. Eric Walther and Raymond “Ray” Hill at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 30, in Liberal Arts North, Room 102. The lecture is titled “LGBT History: Harvey Milk, Houston Gay Liberation and New Directions in the Movement.”

The lecture will cover the historical fight for LGBT equality in the United States with an emphasis on the movement in Texas.

Walther is a professor at the University of Houston and is currently working on a book concerning LGBT politics in Houston during the 1970s and 1980s. He also is currently working on a manuscript titled “Harvey Milk: The Public Face of Gay Rights Politics” for Routledge Press.

Hill is a well-known figure in the Texas gay liberation movement, life-long Texas resident, and alumnus of SFA, the University of Houston and Tulane University. He has been involved in human and LGBT rights movements since 1958, including authoring the nation’s first safe sex pamphlet in the wake of the AIDS epidemic during the 1980s.

Hill has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the 2001 Lifetime Achievement Award from The Unity Committee and the 2008 John P. McGovern award from the University of Texas School of Public Health, among numerous other awards.

SFA’s Department of History also will host two sessions Thursday for SFA faculty members and students to talk with Hill and Walther. The session for faculty members will be from noon to 1 p.m. with the student session following from 1 to 2 p.m. both in the Department of History’s conference room, located in LAN, Room 308.

For more information about the lecture or meeting times, contact Dr. Savannah Williamson, SFA visiting assistant professor, at williamssl50@sfasu.edu.