Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University’s hospitality administration and visual impairment programs are hosting “Dining in the Dark” from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, April 21, at the Nacogdoches County Civic Center to raise awareness about visual impairment.

The event is a sensory encounter designed to prompt blindfolded guests to use their senses beyond vision throughout a four-course meal. It also will feature a cocktail hour and silent auction. Every table will have an ambassador from the visual impairment program to assist guests.

“We are pleased to bring this event back for a second year where guests capture an unforgettable journey that will challenge their senses,” said Dr. Chay Runnels, hospitality administration program coordinator.

Tickets are $50 per person and tables of eight also are available. The dinner’s theme will be “Texas Fusion.” Seating is limited, and tickets are available online at https://forms.sfasu.edu/giving/onlinegift.asp. Event proceeds will benefit both programs as well as Camp Independence, a weeklong camp for children with visual impairments hosted at the university.

“This is a great hands-on opportunity for students, and we love the collaboration between departments,” said Dr. Gina Fe Causin, assistant professor of human sciences.

For more information, contact Lucas Fandry, marketing committee chair, at fandrylk@jacks.sfasu.edu; or Causin at (936) 468-1411 or causingf@sfasu.edu.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Jacks Council on Family Relations is partnering with SFA’s Residence Hall Association to host a children’s book drive to benefit children at Greater East Texas Community Action Program Head Start and Early Head Start.

“Research shows one way to help preschoolers prepare for school is by having books at home so parents and caregivers are able to read to them on a regular basis,” said Dr. Jennifer Newquist, SFA assistant professor of child development and family living. “These donated books will go to children to take home and keep.”

Shonda Hortness, JCFR member and SFA senior majoring in child development and family living, is helping lead the book drive and has challenged organizations to collect 1,000 books.

“Children love books and get excited to receive one that is theirs. We hope this gesture will encourage someone at home to read to these children,” Hortness said. “Reading to a child is a bonding as well as educational experience, and it is important to nurture our children.”

Both SFA student organizations will be collecting books for children in infancy through 5 years through Friday, April 22. Donation sites include Sonic on North Street, Hastings and The Precious Cycle located next to Pizza Hut on South Street. Also, SFA students can bring donations and deposit them in the boxes located on each floor of the residence halls. Donations also can be arranged for pick up by contacting Hortness at (936) 553-8060.

Hortness said she is determined to make this drive a success due to her personal connection with the project. Having two grandchildren who love to read, Hortness has witnessed firsthand how important reading is to children.

“Reading is not only beneficial to children’s cognitive development, but also to their emotional development,” Hortness said. “I study young children, and it is my responsibility to know the ins and outs of child development. However, I do not need stats to show me how much of an influence reading has on children. I see it in their eyes when we share a book. I hear it in their voices when they ‘read’ the pictures to me, and I feel it in my heart when they ask me for a new book.”

Stephen F. Austin State University’s School of Human Sciences faculty and staff members recognized dozens of students during its annual Honors Convocation Tuesday, April 12, on the university’s campus.

“This convocation recognizes student excellence and scholastic achievement and acknowledges an outstanding alumni,” said Dr. Lynda Martin, director of the School of Human Sciences.

The school offers seven areas of study: child development and family living; family and consumer sciences; fashion merchandising; food, nutrition and dietetics; hospitality administration; interior design; and interior merchandising. Students within each area were recognized, and eight students received outstanding academic achievement awards.

Carly Dewitt, a senior family and consumer sciences major, was among the honorees and received the Teagarden Human Sciences Highest GPA and the FCS Leadership Award.

“It means a lot to me to be able to receive these awards because I have worked really hard,” Dewitt said. “I’m also grateful for the recognition because it shows that hard work does pay off.”

Dewitt plans to graduate from SFA in August and return to pursue a master’s degree in accounting. Her goal is to own a boutique.

Additionally, senior Adrian Gutierrez was honored with the Outstanding Club Member award for child development and family living. Gutierrez is the president of the Jacks Council on Family Relations student organization, has served as a student director for the Purple Haze Association, was a member of the Lumberjack Marching Band for four years, and served as a human sciences ambassador for three years.

“I’m very grateful to have won this award and to have been so involved in campus activities,” Gutierrez said. “Going through this program has taught me wonderful leadership skills that I will carry throughout my professional career.”

SFA’s School of Human Sciences also awarded scholarships to more than 30 students and recognized the human sciences ambassadors.

This year, the school honored alumna Mickey Bufalini with the 2016 Edna Wilkin Teagarden Award for exemplary service in human sciences. Bufalini has been an interior designer for 35 years and has received numerous awards at the national, state and city levels for her work.

Seven Stephen F. Austin State University faculty members were recognized for their teaching abilities during the annual Teaching Excellence Convocation Wednesday, April 13, in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Regents’ Suite A on the SFA campus.

The Teaching Excellence Awards were established in 1994 to honor outstanding classroom teachers at SFA. Each of the university’s six colleges selects a faculty member to receive the annual award based on knowledge of subject matter, quality of lectures and assignments, enthusiasm for teaching, interest in and availability to students, commitment to continuous improvement, and contribution to the quality of teaching at SFA by assisting and encouraging other faculty members. The 2016 recipients are as follows:

Nelson Rusche College of Business

Dr. Marcus Cox serves as an assistant professor of management in the Department of Management, Marketing and International Business in the Nelson Rusche College of Business. Cox taught as a lecturer at SFA from 1997-99 and from 2002-09 prior to returning as a tenure-track faculty member in fall 2013. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from SFA, his Certificate of Advanced Management from Babson College and his doctoral degree from the University of North Texas.

Cox teaches human resource management, compensation and benefits, and strategic management. His research interests include corporate environmental performance and industry regulation, organizational misconduct, executive compensation in the non-profit sector and training effectiveness. He has most recently been published in the Journal of Business Strategies and the Journal of Small Business Strategy, and he was awarded the Best Paper award by the Academy of Management.

James I. Perkins College of Education

After serving 18 years in public education as a teacher and administrator, Dr. Stacy Hendricks joined SFA’s James I. Perkins College of Education in 2010 as project director of the Consortium for Excellence in Rural Teacher Preparation for English Language Learners. In 2011, she joined the Department of Secondary Education and Educational Leadership as an assistant professor, where she teaches aspiring administrators in the principal preparation program. She also is the program coordinator of SFA’s master’s degree in educational leadership.

Hendricks received her master’s degree from Southeastern Oklahoma State University and holds a doctoral degree in educational administration from Texas A&M University-Commerce. Her research interests include online curriculum and pedagogical approaches, educational leadership, and evaluating and improving principal preparation programs. Her most recent research includes the book, “Preparing educators for online learning: A careful look at the components and how to assess their value.”

College of Fine Arts

Dr. Nathan Nabb, professor of saxophone in the School of Music, joined the SFA faculty in 2010. He received his Bachelor of Music Performance at the University of Illinois, and he received his Master of Music and doctoral degree from Northwestern University.

Nabb is an international soloist and chamber musician, and he regularly performs with the St. Louis and Houston Symphonies. His students have won numerous local and national competitions, have been admitted into prestigious graduate programs nationwide, and are accomplished teachers in primary and secondary schools.

Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture

Dr. Sheryll Jerez, associate professor of environmental science, joined SFA’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture faculty in November 2007. She received her bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from the University of the Philippines, a Master of Science in agricultural engineering from Kansas State University and doctoral degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Jerez teaches introduction to environmental science, environmental measurements, environmental assessment and management, and air-quality assessment.

Jerez mentors students involved in undergraduate research and was the recipient of the 2014 Faculty Mentor of the Year award. She serves as a research adviser to graduate students in environmental science who are specializing in either land and water resources or occupational and environmental health. Her research interests include air-quality assessment, modeling and control. Jerez investigates the effectiveness of new technologies and best-management practices to help improve air quality. She is currently working on the assessment of the impact on air quality of hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas production in Texas.

College of Liberal and Applied Arts

Dr. Steven Estrada serves as the undergraduate program coordinator in SFA’s Department of Psychology and has been an assistant professor since fall 2010. He received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Arlington and his master’s and doctoral degrees from Cornell University. Estrada has published in the fields of memory development, adolescent decision-making and medical decision-making. His work applies cutting-edge physiological techniques in understanding the neuronal mechanisms behind the dynamics of attention and emotion.

His research laboratory offers many undergraduates the opportunity to gain hands-on learning in research on psychology. At the undergraduate level, Estrada teaches introductory statistics, general psychology and developmental psychology, often applying innovative teaching techniques in his courses. At the graduate level, Estrada enjoys teaching advanced statistics, a course on decision-making and has served as chair on several masters’ theses committees.

College of Sciences and Mathematics

Mindy Shaw Faulkner joined SFA’s Department of Geology in 2005 as an adjunct faculty member after receiving her bachelor’s degree in environmental geology in 2002. She completed her Master of Science in geology in 2006 from SFA. In 2010, she assumed the laboratory coordinator position and now supervises the teaching and content of the department’s undergraduate laboratories. In May 2016, Faulkner will graduate with a doctoral degree in forestry from SFA.

She currently teaches courses in geochemistry, structural geology and various field courses, including the Department of Geology’s summer field camp. Her research interests are natural resource management, karst systems, geochemistry, field geology, and the influence of subsurface structures on fluid migration and vegetation patterns.

Adjunct Teaching

Herbert Midgley II has been a lecturer of music in SFA’s School of Music since 1999. He studied music composition, education and filmmaking and received his bachelor’s degree, Master of Music, Master of Education and Master of Fine Arts from SFA. Midgley is an active film composer and is involved with electronic avant-garde music. Before joining the SFA faculty, Midgley taught all levels of music in public schools.

The Orchestra of the Pines at Stephen F. Austin State University will present the program “Stories from Afar” when the ensemble performs at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 25, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The program features music by composers Richard Wagner, Franz Liszt and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. A highlight of the program will be a return performance of guest artist Ning An, assistant professor of piano at California State University, Fullerton, visiting artist at Lee University and celebrated concert pianist who has performed in venues worldwide.

“Our music for this concert conveys stories about Greek mythology, Christian piety and the distant Orient, all while spinning the spotlight on outstanding solos by members of the orchestra and our guest pianist, Ning An,” said Dr. Gene H. Moon, director of orchestras for the SFA School of Music.

The orchestra will perform Wagner’s illustrious overture to the opera “Tannhäuser,” whose stories “speak of a knightly minstrel struggling between the temptations of the flesh and spiritual love,” Moon explained. Graduate student Jeff Leung from Hong Kong will guest conduct.

An will join the orchestra in its performance of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major.

“An’s last engagement with the SFA orchestra was six years ago in 2010 when he performed Sergei Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto,” Moon said. “It was an evening that has remained memorable for all those who attended and shared the stage with the artist.”

The program concludes with the “sensational storytelling” of Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Scheherazade,” Op. 35, Moon said.

“‘Scheherazade’ is one of the greatest orchestral works penned and continues to be widely programmed work,” he said. “It is a great undertaking for this orchestra. The last time the Orchestra of the Pines performed ‘Scheherazade,’ the orchestra’s personnel consisted of roughly 20 music students complemented with SFA music faculty and professional musicians from Dallas and Houston. Ten years later, we bring it back but with an orchestra whose personnel consists of all music students studying at SFA. We even have a few alumni returning to join in the festivities. It is really a hallmark moment in the orchestra’s history.”

Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Steel Band will present a multifaceted program when the band, also known as Jacks of Steel, performs at 6 p.m. Sunday, April 24, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

“The concert will consist of a diverse variety of styles, including traditional, contemporary, pop songs and even some ska music,” said Dr. Brad Meyer, director of percussion studies for the SFA School of Music.

The Steel Band will perform the fun ’80s tune “Take on Me” by A-Ha! and the Ernies’ “Inspector 8,” which is an energetic ska tune arranged by Brian Nozny. Ska is a modern style of vocalized Jamaican popular music, which emerged in the 1950s as a blend of African-Jamaican folk music, calypso and American rhythm and blues.

The band will get the audience “grooving and moving,” Meyer said, with “Happy” by Pharrell Williams and “Uptown Funk” by Bruno Mars.

Cole Concert Hall is located in the Tom and Peggy Wright Music Building, 2210 Alumni Drive. Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.

Meyer described the Steel Band as “one of the most popular and requested ensembles in the School of Music.” With 16 members, the group uses a full set of steel pans, including three leads, two double tenors, two cellos and bass pans as well as a large rhythm section with drumset, electric bass and various Latin percussion. The group performs a wide variety of music, including traditional Caribbean music, pop, rock and Latin.

“The nature of the ensemble allows for student members to develop skills in improvisation and music arranging,” Meyer said.

Membership is open to both music and non-music majors with consent of the instructor. The band is available to perform at private local events. To reserve the group to perform, contact Meyer at meyerbe@sfasu.edu.