Everything Nac

Chad Huckaby of Martinsville has been appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to serve as student regent on Stephen F. Austin State University’s Board of Regents during the 2016-17 academic year.

Huckaby, who graduated from SFA in May 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics, is now pursuing a Master of Science in mathematical sciences at the university. He was named Mr. SFA during his senior year.

Huckaby serves on the student advisory board of Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership honor society, and he will join ODK’s national advisory council later this summer. He also works as a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics in SFA’s College of Sciences and Mathematics.

“I am humbled to be selected to serve as student regent,” Huckaby said. “It means a lot to me, and it speaks to the university’s ability to develop student leaders that a person from a small town like Martinsville can be chosen as one of only a few student regents in Texas to serve in this capacity.”

A third-generation Lumberjack, Huckaby said he plans to graduate with his master’s degree in May 2017 and pursue a career in public service.

“My tenure at SFA has fundamentally changed who I am as a leader,” he said. “It has strengthened my work ethic, and I bleed purple.”

Huckaby’s first official duty will be attending the quarterly meeting of the SFA Board of Regents July 25-26.

The addition of a crop science course into the core curriculum has accelerated the need to build a 7,200-square-foot, three-bay, gutter-connected greenhouse totaling $150,000 on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center.

The new facility will provide the SFA Gardens with a much-needed area for plant production and student-driven research projects, said SFA Gardens Director Dr. David Creech, as well as assist horticulture and forestry students in obtaining real-world experience in an industry-standard greenhouse.

“Our current area is already inadequate to house the space needs we have for numerous horticulture labs,” said Dawn Stover, SFA Gardens research associate, “including crop science, fruits and vegetables, plant propagation, nursery management, greenhouse management, etc., as well as soil science experiments, graduate student projects, an active horticulture club, and plants for the SFA Gardens and the Sprout Garden.”

The greenhouse will be used to grow plants for special projects and research. It also will be used to grow many of the plants available for purchase at fundraiser plant sales. Stover said the SFA Gardens also would benefit by incorporating many of the plants grown there into its landscapes.

“With the addition of crop science into the core, we have the potential to see 150 additional students each semester,” said Stover. “We simply need more space to accommodate our growing program.”

To make a donation, call (936) 468-5406; visit www.sfasu.edu/give; or mail checks, write “greenhouse” in the memo line, to P.O. Box 6092, SFA Station, Nacogdoches, Texas 75962-6092.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art and the Friends of the Visual Arts will present a free, one-night screening of “The Unforeseen” at 7 p.m. Friday, June 3, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

Directed by Laura Dunn, “The Unforeseen” is the 2007 documentary about the development around Barton Springs in Austin and how many citizens responded, fearing the degradation of Austin’s emblematic “swimming hole” and the environment sustaining it.

Among the cast members are singer-songwriter and Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Willie Nelson and the late former Texas Governor Ann Richards.

“The Unforeseen” won an Independent Spirit Award in 2008. It runs one hour, 28 minutes. Actor, director, producer and environmentalist Robert Redford, who spent his summers as a child in Austin, is an executive producer on the film.

This screening is part of the School of Art’s monthly Friday Film Series and is sponsored in part by the Nacogdoches Film Festival, William Arscott, Nacogdoches Junior Forum, Karon Gillespie, Mike Mollot, Main Street Nacogdoches, David Kulhavy, John and Kristen Heath, Brad Maule, Galleria Z, Jill Carrington, Jean Stephens and Jim and Mary Neal.

The Cole Art Center is located at 329 E. Main St. For more information, call (936) 468-1131.