Everything Nac

Members of the Stephen F. Austin State University Board of Regents will host a public groundbreaking of the Ed and Gwen Cole STEM Building at 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7. The new facility, seen in this architect’s rendering, will house various science, technology, engineering and mathematics departments and a new SFA planetarium with a 52-foot dome.

The ceremony will follow a regular meeting of the board.

“Construction of the state-of-the-art Ed and Gwen Cole STEM Building will improve the academic and professional lives of SFA students and faculty members for decades to come,” said Regent Barry Nelson, chair of the buildings and grounds committee. “The facility will be yet another educational bridge between the university and the East Texas community and will help SFA continue to produce top-ranking scholars within the STEM fields.”

The SFA Board of Regents approved naming the building in April 2016 for Ed Cole and his wife, the late Gwen Cole, who have supported a number of SFA programs in fine arts, audiology, nursing and athletics, as well as student scholarships.

“Through all their giving, and most recently through a gift dedicated to the STEM initiative, the Coles have shown their pure passion for student success,” said Jill Still, SFA vice president for advancement.

In addition to serving as a showcase for STEM learning and teaching anywhere in the United States, Nelson said the very unique and stunning architecture of the building makes a statement that will serve as an icon for the university.

“Wherever it appears, the building’s likeness will be widely recognized as a landmark of the SFA campus and a beacon attracting students to pursue our various STEM degree courses in a learning environment second to none,” Nelson said.

The 84th Texas Legislature granted SFA approximately $46.4 million in tuition revenue bond funding in 2015 to construct the new science, technology, engineering and mathematics building, which will house the Department of Physics and Astronomy, the Department of Computer Science, a new SFA planetarium with a 52-foot dome, and makerspaces — areas that allow students to collaborate and create prototypes or other manufactured works.

The facility also will feature a machine shop, research laboratories, multipurpose labs, computer labs, collaborative classrooms and a terrace equipped with telescopes.

Stephen F. Austin State University students from the School of Art, Department of Management, Marketing and International Business, and Department of Mass Communication attended the American Advertising Federation-Houston Student Conference held Oct. 21 and 22 in Houston. Several SFA students were members of the first-, second- and third- place winning teams.

The federation is an association of advertising professionals encompassing all disciplines in the advertising, marketing and communications industries.

Twenty-three SFA students in the School of Art, Department of Management, Marketing and International Business, and Department of Mass Communication competed during the conference.

Amy Keyser, Kingwood art senior, placed first. Brooke Alverson, Nacogdoches mass communication senior; and Theresa Vinh, Houston marketing senior; placed second. Mackenna Cotten, Wimberly art senior; Jordyn Palluth, Keller mass communication senior; and Caitlin Whittington, Corrigan art senior; placed third.

More than 90 students from 13 universities competed during the competition, which tasked students with developing advertising campaign plans designed to increase registration for the city’s AlertHouston emergency alert program.

“The broader goals of this competition included connecting students to industry professionals and local media organizations,” said Dr. Seth Bradshaw, assistant professor in SFA’s Department of Mass Communication.

During the competition, students were placed in groups and visited local advertising agencies, firms, and publishing and media companies to work toward developing an advertising campaign. Students worked within a deadline to create a campaign for their clients and prepare it for judging.

“It’s a great opportunity for students to connect with local professionals and get their contact information,” said Daniel Anguiano, assistant professor in SFA’s School of Art. “Students learn cooperation and teamwork while developing their creative skills.”

The conference also featured a panel discussion from recent college graduates about how to enter the advertising industry, and professionals offered one-on-one feedback to students regarding portfolios and résumés.

“This conference gives students the opportunity to experience what the industry wants and to prepare them to meet industry needs,” said Dr. Marlene Kahla, professor in SFA’s Department of Management, Marketing and International Business.

Stephen F. Austin State University interior design students will host their fifth annual “Silent Night Auction” from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 1 and 2 at the Nacogdoches Convention and Visitors Bureau downtown. Auction items include holiday-themed home décor, high-quality wreaths, signage, gift baskets, art and ornaments. Some items are not holiday-themed.

SFA’s American Society of Interior Design and International Interior Design Association student chapters joined forces to orchestrate the fundraiser, which is open to the SFA and Nacogdoches communities.

SFA design students and faculty members created the auction items, which include holiday-themed home décor, high-quality wreaths, signage, gift baskets, art and ornaments. Some items are not holiday-themed.

Funds raised will help send SFA students to the ASID and IIDA Career Days, as well as on an educational trip to Shreveport, Louisiana, to meet with designers and go behind-the-scenes at a casino. During career days, professionals give lectures on the industry, communication techniques and what to expect on the job. Students also have the opportunity to participate in mock interviews and have their portfolios reviewed.

“The field trip and career days give students an opportunity to network and gain exposure in real time. All of the career days have tours to interior design and architectural firms and to construction sites,” said Sally Ann Swearingen, associate professor in SFA’s School of Human Sciences.

For more information, contact Swearingen at sswearingen@sfasu.edu.

Dr. Yalma Vargas, research fellow from the National Council of Science and Technology at the University of Guadalajara, Mexico, will be the guest speaker for the SFA Gardens’ monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series slated for 7 p.m. Nov. 10 in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center.

Vargas is a research fellow from the National Council of Science and Technology based at the University of Guadalajara, Mexico. Her research interests include phylogeography, molecular systematics, and plant ecology and conservation.

After earning her Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of Guadalajara, Vargas moved to the U.S. to pursue a master’s degree in ecology from Louisiana State University. While working on her graduate degree, she concentrated on the ecology and conservation of cloud forests with sugar maples in Mexico and Central America. Later, her doctoral research integrated the evolutionary history of sugar maple populations along the Eastern U.S. and Central America.

As part of her graduate research, Vargas wrote a natural area proposal and management plan to protect one of the sugar maple populations in Western Mexico, which resulted in a legal decree under the state park category.

After graduating with her doctoral degree, Vargas served as assistant curator in the LSU herbarium and as a research associate in the university’s School of Renewable Natural Resources conservation genetics lab. She began her research fellow position in 2014, and her most recently funded project will test different hypotheses of plant demographic change in relation to quaternary geological events. She will use the genome of white oak populations along their distribution in Mexico and Central America.

The Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series is held the second Thursday of each month and includes a rare-plant raffle after the program. The lecture is free and open to the public, but donations to the Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series fund are always appreciated.

Parking is available at the nearby Raguet Elementary School, 2428 Raguet St., with continual shuttle service to the Brundrett Conservation Education Building.

For more information, call (936) 468-1832 or email sfagardens@sfasu.edu.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre will present the student-directed, one-act play “Why Do We Laugh?” by Stephen Gregg at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, in the Downstage Theatre on the SFA campus.

Directed by Houston junior Jason Trevino, “Why Do We Laugh?” is “an endearing one-act play about a lifelong love story and what it means to grow old together,” according to Trevino.

“Eight actors play two characters at four different times in the characters’ lives in this fast-paced comedy,” he said.

The cast features McAllen senior Pedro Dominguez as Andrew, age 5; Porter freshman Delaney Brittingham as Meredith, age 6; Wataugh freshman Nathan Young as Andrew, age 15; Plano junior Cecily Maucieri as Meredith, age 16; Kempton Park, South Africa, senior Hanro Janse van Rensburg as Andrew, age 44; Baytown senior Chelsea Denard as Meredith, age 45; Angleton senior Bobby Britton as Andrew, age 66; and Lufkin senior Amy Miller-Martin as Meredith, age 67.

The production staff includes Maddie Collins, Sunnyvale sophomore, stage manager; Travis Brasher, Wichita Falls junior, scenic designer; Alexa Wicks, Mathis senior, and Danika Pettyjohn, Fort Worth senior, co-costume designers; Brittany Tennis, Hutto junior, lighting designer; Bruce Moran, Lake Jackson senior, sound designer; Brooke McPherson, Leander senior, makeup designer; and Victoria Medrano, Edinburg junior, properties designer.

Stephanie Murphy is faculty production advisor.

Trevino is a Bachelor of Fine Arts candidate with an emphasis in acting and directing. Although he hopes to work as a professional actor and director, his end goal is to work in higher education.

Tickets are $4. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit theatre.sfasu.edu. The Downstage Theatre is located in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive.