Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University staff members were recently honored for their years of service to the institution. Ten-year award recipients included (seated, from left) Pansy Tinkle, Steen Library; Kristina Sage, orientation; Hollie Gammel Smith, student affairs programming; Judeana Marshall, mathematics and statistics; Carol A. Woodson, student center administration; Beverly Hope Smith, Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture; (standing, from left) Surry Consford, Sid Pierce and Lee Brittain, physical plant; SFA President Baker Pattillo; Ezequiel Tapia and Rumone Upshaw, physical plant; and Hutch Burr, university affairs systems support. Ten-year employees honored but not pictured include: Carrie H. Brown, research and sponsored programs; Shelton L. Shepherd, student center administration; Alicia Roland Chatman, alumni affairs; Dannette Leanne Sales, controller’s office; Carrie Baker, Nelson Rusche College of Business; Sonja Hendry-Witt, environmental health, safety and risk management; Merry Anne Bright, health services; Lisa Mozingo, mass communication; Don Clasquin, post office; Linda Frazier, registrar; Kathleen Miller, residence life; Winifred Page, student center administration; and Stacy Hughes, Lillian Jones, Barry Nichols, and Michael Dwain Stracener, physical plant.

Fourteen SFA employees recently received 20-year service awards from the university. Pictured are (seated, from left) Donna J. Burkett, office of the registrar; Andra Fletchall Floyd, center for teaching and learning; Julia Lee Farrell, health services; Jill Still, development; ­Pamela Renee Corman, controller’s office; Charlene P. Honea, health services; Sonnie Mosier, military science; (standing, from left) Hardy Dale Meredith, university marketing communications; Stephen J. Watson, information technology services; SFA President Baker Pattillo; Karyn L. Hall, institutional research; James E. Fincher, university police department; Robert Lee White, physical plant; and Bobby F. Williams, controller’s office. Deborah Joan Allport, student center administration, also was honored but is not pictured.

Two Stephen F. Austin State University employees recently were honored for 30 years of service. Awards were presented to Paul Weatherford, a soils laboratory associate for the agriculture department, and D’nese Haddox, associate director of residence life. The recipients are pictured with (center) Dr. Baker Pattillo, SFA president.

Four SFA employees received the President’s Achievement Award in recognition of outstanding achievement and excellent service at the 31st annual Staff and Retiree Recognition Award Ceremony. Pictured with Dr. Baker Pattillo, SFA president are (from left) Jill Milem, director of counseling services; Debra Turnham, senior receiving assistant for procurement and property services: and Laura Anderson, administrative assistant for the biology department. Also honored, but not pictured, was Heather Catton, director of international studies and programs. Employees are nominated by their colleagues to receive the award, which includes a $500 cash reward and plaque.

10 years of Service
More than 40 Stephen F. Austin State University faculty members were recently honored for 10 years of service to the university. Pictured are (seated from left) Karol A. Chandler-Ezell, anthropology; Regina Del Low and Christine J. Harper, nursing; Claudia G. Whitley, elementary education; and Carolyn “CC” Conn, theatre. Standing, from left, are Tracey Covington Hasbun, elementary education; Stephen M. Kosovich, economics and finance; William Forbes, geography and sustainability; Danielle Rene Johnson, mathematics and statistics; Christina Guenther, music; Dennis Michael Bradford, history; Kwame Badu Antwi-Boasiako, government; Chay Rees Runnels, human sciences; Steve E. Galatas, government; Sara E. Bishop, nursing; Kevin R. West, English; Kimberly Ann Welsh, elementary education; Kenneth Ray Austin, secondary education and educational leadership; Erin G. Brown, agriculture; Christopher Eden Comer, forestry; Keith E. Hubbard, mathematics and statistics; and Jannah Walters Nerren, College of Education Assessment & Accountability; and Janet L. Tareilo, secondary education and educational leadership. Ten-year award recipients honored, but not pictured, included James Allen, Deborah Joan Buswell and Brittany Castledine, kinesiology and health science; Charles Woodrow Ashton and Jeffery E. Roth, geography; Perky Beisel and Andrew Chilton Lannen, history; Kim R. Culbreath, social work; Erica Denae Dillard and Dawn Michelle Williams, elementary education; Angela Lindsay Dixon, mathematics and statistics; Anthony Joseph Duben and Russell J. Franks, chemistry; Korey E. Kahler, computer science; David Harrison Miller, agriculture; Paige R. Mask, human services; Rose Marie Powell, nursing; David S. Raine, theatre; Mark Andrew Scanlan, economics and finance; and Melinda Shaw Faulkner, geology.

20 Years of Service
SFA librarian Ann K. Ellis, at left, and Leisha Moore Bridwell, an interior design faculty member, were honored recently for their 20 years of service to Stephen F. Austin State University. Other faculty members honored for 20 years of service included Larry Gene Bishop, English; Troy D. Davis, history; David A. Lewis, art history; Shiyou, Li, forestry; and Alan Sowards, elementary education.

30 & 40 Years of Service
Stephen F. Austin State University faculty members were honored recently for their years of service to the university. Pictured are (from left) Gene A. Sullivan, biology, who was honored for 30 years of service; and Harry Downing, physics and astronomy, and Dr. Leon Young, agriculture, who were honored for 40 years of service. Also honored for 40 years of service, but not pictured, were Piero Fenci, art, and Robert Fleet, mathematics and statistics.

Retirements
Faculty members retiring from Stephen F. Austin State University were honored during a recent luncheon. Pictured are (from left) Stan Bobo, kinesiology; Greta Eugenia Haidinyak, nursing; Carl Pfaffenberg and Marie Saracino, human sciences; Wilbur Rhea Clark, accounting; and Cay McAninch and Carolyn Boudro Davis, elementary education. Also honored, but not pictured, were Anthony Duben, chemistry; Geralyn McClure Franklin, management, marketing and international business; Gary Russell Parker, art; Pamela D. Roberson, mathematics and statistics; Carol Scamman, Steen Library; Patricia Spence, mass communication; Thomas Segady, sociology; and M. Gail Weatherly, business communication and legal studies.

The academic year at Stephen F. Austin State University may have ended, but the activity in SFA’s School of Theatre is gearing up for the 2015 SummerStage Festival, which will feature two classics that are sure to please audiences of all ages.

This year’s SummerStage Festival is slated for June 26 through July 17 and features Tennessee Williams’ masterpiece “The Glass Menagerie” along with children’s favorite “The Emperor’s New Clothes: The Musical” by Karen Boettcher-Tate and Bill Francoeur.

The SummerStage Festival was launched last year as the School of Theatre began to reach out to new audiences looking for a casual and entertaining way of spending warm-weather time with family and friends, according to Scott Shattuck, the school’s director.

“With live music and refreshments before the shows, the wonderfully social part of seeing a favorite story onstage is more fun than ever at SFA,” Shattuck said. “We had our largest summer audience yet in 2014, and we think that this year’s plays will appeal to even more people from throughout our community.”

Angela Bacarisse, who directed the popular and successful production of Monty Python’s “Spamalot” last fall, returns as director of “The Emperor’s New Clothes: The Musical,” one of the world’s most beloved children’s stories freshly enhanced with original songs in various pop styles. Hans Christian Anderson’s short tale is about two mischievous swindlers who persuade a vain emperor that they can outfit him in a suit so glamorous that it’s invisible to fools. When he falls for their scheme, the results are hilarious.

Laura Rikard, assistant professor of theatre at SFA, will direct “The Glass Menagerie,” the story that launched Williams’ career as America’s greatest playwright. The play revolves around Williams’ unforgettable characters – Amanda Wingfield, the faded southern belle, her daughter Laura, as fragile as the shimmering animals of the title, Laura’s compassionate but frustrated brother Tom, and the “gentleman caller” that rocks their delicately balanced world.

Weekday matinee performances of the children’s production are popular not only with daycare and school groups but also with retired grandparents looking for great things to do with kids when it’s often too hot to play outside, Shattuck explained. The 6:30 p.m. curtain time for evening children’s shows gets children home for a reasonable bedtime, while the 7:30 p.m. curtain time for “The Glass Menagerie” provides time for a bite of dinner after work without getting grownups home too late, either.

“This year we’re experimenting with 2 p.m. Sunday matinees of both shows to provide even more options for our audiences,” Shattuck said. The weekend afternoon performance of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” is scheduled for July 5, with “The Glass Menagerie” set for Sunday, July 12, at 2 p.m. “We’ve also added one ‘early-to-bed’ 6:30 p.m. curtain time for ‘The Glass Menagerie’ on Thursday, July 16, for those who don’t want to stay out late mid-week,” he continued.

Two “Pay-What-You-Can” performances, sponsored for the third year by the Nacogdoches Walmart store, allow audiences to choose the amount they pay for admission, Shattuck explained.

“These special performances make it possible for everyone, regardless of ability to pay, to enjoy the stories,” he said. “At these shows, those who are able to pay $15 for a ticket are asked to support our work by doing so, but those who can only pay $10, $5 or even $1 are equally welcome.”

“Pay-What-You-Can” performances are at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 27, for “The Glass Menagerie” and at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 2, for “The Emperor’s New Clothes: The Musical.”

“‘The Glass Menagerie’ is one of the most popular stories ever written for the American stage,” according to Shattuck. “Many of us have read it in school or seen it onstage somewhere, and it recently had a sensationally successful Broadway revival, reminding us of how much people love to return to visit the Wingfield family.

“In the end, ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ is a story about how much we need children’s genuine sincerity to keep us honest and sane,” Shattuck said. “There’s a great lesson there for kids and adults alike, and the rockin’ score of this version makes learning just as fun as can be.”

The Great American Cookie Company will offer sweet treats for sale outside the Griffith Fine Arts building prior to performances.

“Around both shows we hope to create a true festival atmosphere – a refreshing destination that will make an ideal break from the summer sun,” Shattuck said. “Before performances of ‘The Glass Menagerie’ we’ll have rock and folk played live outdoors by favorite local musicians, including Charlie Jones, Jon Hall, Mark McLain, Marshall Hance and The Mellows. Before ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes,’ the cast will entertain outside as well.”

Performances of “The Glass Menagerie” are at 7:30 p.m. nightly on June 26 and 27 and July 9, 10, 14, and 17, at 6:30 p.m. July 16, and at 2 p.m. July 12. General admission tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for seniors and $7.50 for students/youth. Performances of “The Emperor’s New Clothes: The Musical” are at 10 a.m. July 14 and 17; at 2 p.m. July 2, 5, 7 and 15; and at 6:30 p.m. July 2, 11 and 15. General admission tickets for “Emperor” are $7.50.

For tickets or more information, visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS. All performances are in W.M. Turner Auditorium in the Griffith Fine Arts Building on the SFA campus.

Christopher Talbot, director of the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art, announced the recipients of SFA art and Friends of the Visual Arts scholarships for the 2015-2016 academic year at the recent opening of the Art Alliance Spring Show in the School of Art Galleries. Winners included:

• Kaydee Wolter of Fort Worth, awarded a Patricia Roberdeau Mast Scholarship.
• Randi Vinson-Davis, Nacogdoches junior, awarded the Robert Kinsell Art Scholarship and a Patricia Roberdeau Mast Scholarship.
• Travis Erxleben, Nacogdoches graduate student, awarded the Piero Fenci Scholarship for Ceramic Arts.
• Brianna Deterling, Nacogdoches graduate student, awarded a Patricia Roberdeau Mast Scholarship.
• Megan Henderson, Round Rock senior, awarded the Gary Q. Frields Art Scholarship and the Jack McKinney Memorial Art Scholarship.
• Ausra Dwyer of Nacogdoches, awarded the Melba Cranford Memorial Art Scholarship and the Art Alliance Scholarship.
• Tori Rice of Austin, awarded the Elsie Arscott Art Scholarship, the Lucille Fouts Raborn Art Scholarship and the Stephen Weeks Memorial Art Scholarship.
• Carlton Herbert, Longview graduate student, awarded the Charles Jones Art Scholarship.
• Tristan Brewster-Arnold, Cleveland sophomore, awarded the Brian Philip Joseph LaBarbera Memorial Art Scholarship.
• Genevieve Nied of Dallas, awarded the John and Doris Daniel Art Scholarship and the Debbie Simpson/Terry Miller Memorial Art Scholarship.
• Andrew Davis of Carthage and Stefano Ragonesi of Nacogdoches share the Eloise Chambers Adams Art Scholarship to assist in their travel to study at the Libera Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, Italy, during Maymester 2015.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Art and the Friends of the Visual Arts will present a free, one-night screening of “Dirt! The Movie” at 7 p.m. Friday, June 5, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House in downtown Nacogdoches.

“Dirt! The Movie” is narrated by Jaime Lee Curtis and brings to life the environmental, economic, social and political impact that the soil has, according to information at dirtthemovie.org. It shares the stories of experts from all over the world who study and are able to harness the beauty and power of a respectful and mutually beneficial relationship with soil.

The film, which runs 86 minutes, was directed and produced by Bill Beneson and Gene Rosow with Laurie Beneson as executive producer. The Hollywood Reporter described it as “an uplifting story about people from all walks of life who are striving to renew our relationship with the ground beneath our feet.”

This screening is part of the School of Art’s monthly Friday Night Film Series and is sponsored in part by The Liberty Bell, Main Street Nacogdoches, Bill Arscott, Jill Carrington, Karon Gillespie, John Heath, David Kulhavy and Brad Maule.

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