Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University’s hospitality administration program welcomed approximately 200 high school students to its second Cooking Up Careers event on Friday, April 15.

The event was designed to introduce SFA and the program to high school students who are interested in taking hospitality and culinary courses.

“It was wonderful having more than 200 students on campus to experience our hospitality program firsthand,” said Dr. Chay Runnels, SFA hospitality administration program coordinator and associate professor. “We are one of four hospitality four-year programs in the state, and the only program with a culinary focus. The students who attended were able to learn about career options in the industry and college life at SFA.”

Dr. Judy Abbott, dean of SFA’s James I. Perkins College of Education, and Blake Loggins, the Lumberjack mascot, welcomed students before the festivities began. Janet McLeroy, assistant director of admissions, and Brittany Fish, SFA hospitality administration graduate, spoke with the participants.

During the event, students were divided into groups and attended two 45-minute sessions. Industry professionals delivered a session on careers in the hospitality industry and discussed how to make a positive impression during and dress for a job interview. Panel participants were Bric Alverson and Ryan Russell from Aramark; John McLaren, The Fredonia Hotel general manager; Marty Prince, Texas Forest Trail executive director; Jessica Gilligan, sales manager at Courtyard by Marriott in Lufkin; and Claudann Jones, Nacogdoches County AgriLife Extension agent.

Eight SFA seniors also conducted a session and discussed college life at SFA, choosing a major and how to successfully transition from high school to college.

High school teachers in attendance were invited to attend two sessions, which informed them about SFA, how to help their students prepare for college, and new and existing resources available to teachers.

As the sessions were convening, Todd Barrios, chef and clinical instructor at SFA, hosted a Market Basket Challenge with seven culinary teams in the Human Sciences North Building lab. The East Texas Restaurant Association awarded $600 to the top culinary teams. Challenge judges included Roger Lumley, owner of Pappasito’s in Tyler and current president of the East Texas Restaurant Association; Bob Westbrook, retired restaurant owner and past president of the East Texas Restaurant Association; Chef Jack Bretzke, East Texas Chef’s Association member; and Chef Jackson York, chef of Lakeview Methodist Conference Center and Texas Chef’s Association Chef of the Year 2010.

Participating high schools included Carthage, Diboll, Marshall, Hallsville, Beckville, Union Grove, Gilmer, Alba-Golden, Pine Tree, Lufkin, Winona and Nacogdoches.

The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts’ Dean’s Circle will bestow the first-ever community-established endowed professorship at SFA when the annual Dean’s Awards are presented at 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 29, at The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

Dr. Charles R. Gavin, professor of horn and chamber music in the SFA School of Music, is the recipient of the inaugural Dean’s Circle Endowed Professorship award, which was created to recognize and honor those who “embody the qualities of the ideal professor that characterize all College of Fine Arts faculty members,” according to Dr. A.C. “Buddy” Himes, dean of the College of Fine Arts.

“The award symbolizes the esteem in which all fine arts faculty are held as a result of the high level of artistry they bring to SFA, the impact their students have on the community as a result of their dedicated teaching, and the commitment they have to furthering their disciplines nationally,” Himes said. “When this award is presented to an individual, it is done so in recognition and on behalf of all fine arts faculty members.”

Gavin said he felt “truly humbled” to be the first recipient of the endowed professorship.

“All I have to do is walk the halls of the Wright Music Building and see so many colleagues deserving of the award,” Gavin said, “and the same holds true for the faculties of the School of Art and School of Theatre. SFA is fortunate to have such a talented and dedicated faculty in the College of Fine Arts.

“Good students make teachers look good,” he continued, “and I have been so fortunate to have been blessed with terrific students over my entire career. It did not take me long to realize that the best school music education programs are in the state of Texas, so why should I leave this state with such amazing band and orchestra programs.

“The success so many of my students have had and continue to enjoy is the greatest accomplishment of my career,” he said.

Establishing and funding the professorship was “the realization of vision,” Himes said. The Dean’s Circle, which is an external support organization of community members founded in 2008, began raising funds for the endowment principal that same year. With support from the SFA Office of University Advancement, the endowment was finally completed in 2014.

“This endowed professorship is absolutely unprecedented in the College of Fine Arts as its first-ever endowed professorship,” Himes said. “But what really makes it unique is that, while other colleges at SFA already have endowed professorships, this award is the first ever for any college that I know of resulting from the work of an external support advisory board of dedicated community volunteers.”

Broad-based criteria made the award open to faculty of all ranks and of all fine arts disciplines, Himes said. Special emphasis was placed on candidates who demonstrated effectiveness at making their wealth of knowledge accessible to students of all levels; effectiveness in recruiting and retaining quality students; application of the concepts of cooperation, mutual support, teamwork and collaboration; and commitment to the mission of the institution.

The recipient was selected by an objective and distinguished panel consisting of two senior faculty members from each discipline – art, music and theatre – and two Dean’s Circle representatives from the community.

Over the three-year term of the award, the recipient will receive a total of $15,000 above his/her base salary. The award is intended to provide the resources for all manner of professional endeavors in which the recipient may choose to become involved, Himes said.

Gavin said the award allows him to travel to important professional events in his field, such as the annual Symposium of the International Horn Society. It will also fund the purchase of new instruments, such as an alphorn and a natural horn.

The next goal for the Dean’s Circle is to have at least one endowed professorship for each of the college’s disciplines in art, music and theatre. This first professorship was made generic to all disciplines until the other professorships are completed, Himes said.

“This is a source of pride and accomplishment for the Dean’s Circle,” Himes said. “This organization draws people from the community closer to the life of the university, and it enhances the symbiotic relationship between the institution and the community.

“This award can have the effect of enhancing the entire faculty inasmuch as the recipient is a role model for all faculty,” he added. “This award can become a source of inspiration and motivation to which all faculty may aspire.”

Two research projects by students in the Stephen F. Austin State University Department of Psychology won top honors this month during the Southwestern Psychology Association conference in Dallas.

Senior undergraduate Stephen Ratliff won a Psi Chi undergraduate research award for his study on the effect of being the target of envy on satisfaction with success. Graduate students Kyle Ripley, Margaret Hance and Stacey Kerr also won a Psi Chi graduate research award for their research looking at ways to increase reading of consent forms in human subjects research. Both projects were conducted in collaboration with Drs. Lauren Brewer and Kyle Conlon, SFA assistant professors of psychology.

In addition to recognition at the Psi Chi awards ceremony, winners also received a $300 monetary award. Pictured, from left, are Brewer, Ripley, Ratliff, Hance and Conlon. Kerr is not pictured.

SFA Department of Psychology faculty members and students gave a total of seven talks and presented 33 posters during the conference. Student travel to SWPA was supported by SFA Student Affairs, the Department of Psychology and the School of Honors. Faculty member travel was supported by the Department of Psychology and the SFA Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.

Numbers don’t lie, and Stephen F. Austin State University’s Gerald W. Schlief School of Accountancy continues to grow with more than 400 students enrolled in the bachelor’s and master’s degree programs combined and the largest graduate class in the program’s history.

Dr. Treba Marsh, interim director of SFA’s School of Accountancy, said the school established its graduate program more than 15 years ago, and it is “growing by leaps and bounds” with almost 100 students exclusively enrolled in that program.

“We are an outstanding school where student success is our most important mission,” Marsh said. “We are very close-knit, and we produce high-quality graduates.”

The Gerald W. Schlief School of Accountancy, which is part of SFA’s Nelson Rusche College of Business, offers a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a major in accounting and two options for acquiring a master’s degree. SFA students can attain a master’s degree in professional accountancy in a stand-alone program or through a five-year, integrated program where students graduate and receive both bachelor’s and master’s degrees simultaneously.

More than 90 percent of SFA’s School of Accountancy graduates are employed immediately after receiving their degrees.

“After our students graduate with an accounting degree, their options are wide open,” said Dr. Nikki Shoemaker, assistant professor of accounting at SFA. “Most of our students pursue public accounting or work for private industries.”

The school’s formula for success includes dedicated faculty members, experiential learning, scholarships and paid internships.

The majority of the school’s faculty and staff members are SFA alumni who have returned to the college to give students the same support and experiences they had, according to Dr. Kelly Noe, assistant professor of accounting at SFA. In fact, Noe and Shoemaker, a 2007 and 2008 graduate, continually pursue experiential-learning opportunities for their students. For example, their internal controls and accounting information systems classes are collaborating and conducting mock internal audits across campus.

“We try really hard to give students experience in multiple areas,” Shoemaker said. “If we discuss a topic in class, we are going to try and get the students actively involved.”

Such collaborative projects help students move beyond their comfort zones, learn interpersonal skills and prepare for the professional world, Noe said. On average, 40 to 50 percent of Noe and Shoemaker’s class time is devoted to hands-on, experiential learning. Students also work with software applications industry professionals use.

“We are constantly working to make sure our students are top notch. We take the time at career fairs to ask employers if there is anything they need from our students that they are not seeing,” Shoemaker said. “We constantly hear our students are great, and their work ethic and knowledge are excellent.”

SFA’s School of Accountancy offers approximately $250,000 in scholarships specifically for accounting students. Also, about 30 students acquire paid internships each spring semester at the local, regional and international levels.

“Students do real work at these internships. They are meeting with clients, and the internships usually end in job offers,” Noe said.

Each year, the school hosts an Accounting Career Fair and an awards banquet, which gives students the opportunity to interact with professionals.

For more information, contact SFA’s Gerald W. Schlief School of Accountancy at (936) 468-3105.