Everything Nac

Registration has begun for the annual Summer Art Academy offered by the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art for the two-week camp that will meet June 6 through 17 on the SFA campus.

Students going into kindergarten through sixth grade may enroll in classes that include drawing, painting and ceramics.

“The academy is an exciting opportunity for young artists to work with a variety of media under the supervision of practicing artists and educators,” said Cala Coats, SFA art instructor and director of the academy.

Classes will meet from 1 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Art Building on Wilson Drive. The students’ work will be exhibited Friday, June 17, in the Art Building. Afterward, the students may take their work home.

The registration fee, which is $185, includes all art supplies and daily refreshments. Registration information is available at http://www.art.sfasu.edu/artacademy or in person at the School of Art.

For additional information, contact the School of Art at (936) 468-4804 or email Coats at coatsc@sfasu.edu

Harpist Emily Mitchell, newly appointed artist-in-residence and professor of harp in the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music, has released her fourth CD of compositions by American flutist and composer Gary Schocker.

Recorded under the Albany Records label, “Changes” includes three pieces for solo harp, a piece for flute and harp, on which Schocker joins Mitchell in the performance, and two pieces for harp duo with harpist Jaymee Haefner, assistant professor of harp and director for undergraduate studies at the University of North Texas, also performing with Mitchell.

“All works on the CD are world premiere recordings,” said Mitchell, who presented the recordings at the Bright Ideas Conference 2016, an annual event that highlights faculty research, scholarship and artistry at SFA.

An acknowledged concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber musician, Mitchell has performed around the globe, including in the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Brazil, Israel and Canada. She has toured 48 states of the United States under the auspices of Community Concerts for Columbia Artists Management. Mitchell has been profiled on “The Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” “Live with Regis and Kathie Lee,” CNN, CNBC, Arts & Entertainment, the BBC, DRS-Swiss TV, the New York Times’ WQXR, Radio France, National Public Radio’s “Performance Today” and in People Magazine.

Mitchell enjoyed a 30-year career in New York City where she was principal harpist for Eos Orchestra, an established name in the television, motion picture and recording studios, and taught on the distinguished faculties of New York University and Purchase College. She also performed with the New York City Ballet and American Symphony Orchestras as well as the Broadway orchestras of “42nd Street,” “The Producers,” “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” “Light in the Piazza” and “Wicked.”

Looking for weekend plans? Stephen F. Austin State University has the answer.

SFA’s James I. Perkins College of Education offers a unique doctoral degree program in educational leadership on weekends to help full-time working individuals further their education.

Dr. Patrick Jenlink, coordinator of SFA’s doctoral degree program in educational leadership, said SFA’s program stands out because of its weekend and face-to-face delivery, two aspects Jenlink said are important to prospective students.

With more than 150 program graduates, SFA’s program moves beyond the confines of an online or traditional program, Jenlink said.

“If you want to prepare for a future as an educational leader, a future that is yet to be written, consider selecting our program,” Jenlink said. “If you are interested in a great learning experience unlike any that you have had, an experience that will prepare you for working in a field like educational leadership where the challenges of the next decade and beyond will be greater than the ones we currently face, this program will prepare you to meet those challenges head on.”

Faculty members use a variety of instructional delivery methods, which bring students out of the classroom and place them in different learning experiences, Jenlink said. For example, SFA offers study abroad opportunities as well as activity-oriented experiences in East Texas such as ropes courses, canoeing and other field-based course activities that combine curriculum with experiential-learning opportunities. Students also have the opportunity to present research and professional papers at state, regional and national conferences.

Each summer the program admits between 10 to 17 students, which makes the student-to-faculty ratio four students to every doctoral faculty member.

“Another factor in our success is our student-to-faculty ratio, which we believe is very critical,” Jenlink said. “This ratio provides for high-quality academic advisement and direct contact time for our students to meet their needs.”

The program also uses a cohort model, meaning all the students enrolled in the program work through the classes together.

“The cohort members share a common identity as a cohort and find opportunity to engage academically and socially in forming community bonds,” Jenlink said. “The power of a cohort model for delivery of the doctoral degree program is the sense of belonging that each doctoral student has with his/her cohort members.”

In November 1996, Jenlink joined the SFA faculty and began working with Dr. Tom Franks, former dean of SFA’s College of Education, and the Department of Secondary Education and Educational Leadership faculty members to establish this program. SFA’s program is designed with an emphasis on the education leader as a scholar-practitioner.

“The term scholar-practitioner is the foundation of our doctoral program. It holds many meanings in relationship to being an educational leader,” Jenlink said. “First and foremost, a scholar-practitioner is an individual who recognizes the importance of informing his/her practice with inquiry and examining leadership practice in the day-to-day activity of the educational setting.”

In addition to the doctoral degree emphasizing educational leadership, the program offers four degree concentrations, including superintendent certification, higher education administration, curriculum leadership and research.

The doctoral program has a nine-hour elective and a six-hour internship requirement. Additionally, academic advisers work with doctoral students to select an internship that complements the student’s career goals.

For more information, visit http://www.sfasu.edu/secondaryed/106.asp or contact Jenlink at (936) 468-1756.

Seventy-two students enrolled at Stephen F. Austin State University competed last month in the 41st annual Computer Science Programming Contest.

Twenty-one teams consisting of three or four members were split among novice and expert categories and tasked with solving 10 problems each. Members of the novice and expert teams that solved the most problems received $25 gift cards. The 2016 competition was sponsored by Elliott Electric Supply. During last year’s competition, 49 students participated.

“The competition’s purpose is to promote camaraderie through friendly competition; to provide an opportunity to meet and socialize with others having similar interests; and to give students a learning opportunity, and a chance for ‘bragging rights’ and prizes,” said Dr. Michael Pickard, professor and chair of SFA’s Department of Computer Science.