Everything Nac

Lauren B. Selden, associate professor of art at Stephen F. Austin State University, was recently elected as a board member for the Society of North American Goldsmiths.

Founded in 1969, SNAG is an international nonprofit organization that serves as the primary organization of jewelers and metal artists in North America. Members include independent studio artists, teachers, students, gallerists, collectors, curators and writers. Selden is the area advisor for metals and jewelry for the SFA School of Art.

“This is a huge opportunity for myself and my students, for recruitment and for international recognition of SFA,” she said. “Volunteer board members are responsible for many of the operations for this large nonprofit. I will gain professional experience with creating a more sustainable nonprofit organization, learn about grant funding, and be an active part in the transition (creating a new business model and strategic plan) that is crucial to the success of the organization.”

SNAG is responsible for several major projects which contribute to the field: the publication of Metalsmith magazine, an annual conference, a newsletter (SNAGnews), a listserve (SNAGnet), and a website. All of these resources and events combine to document the work in the fields of jewelry, design and metal arts and help to foster a vibrant, professional artistic community, according to its definition in Wikipedia.

“This organization houses oral history, exhibitions, technical practices, professional support and so much more,” Selden said, “all of which is still vital to the field of metalworking and jewelry.”

Selden received her BFA from Murray State University in Murray, Ky., and her MFA from Arizona State University. Her artwork has exhibited in various states across the nation and published in Lark Books’ “500 Metal Vessels” and “500 Wedding Rings.” After six years of teaching at SFA, Selden has received multiple awards, including the Teaching Excellence Award from the College of Fine Arts. Her current sculptural work will be on display in Abilene and St. Joseph, Mo., for one year beginning this summer. Selden will participate in a research initiative with fellow SFA professors in Salvador, Bahia (Brazil) this summer, with resulting creative work being shown in 2015.

Stephen F. Austin State University students have logged 93,715 service hours this academic year, exceeding the goal of 90,0000 service hours set by President Baker Pattillo in honor of SFA’s 90th anniversary.

“As we celebrate our 90th year, it seems appropriate that we do so by acknowledging the tremendous impact our students make on this city, state, nation and world,” said Dr. Adam Peck, assistant vice president for university affairs and dean of student affairs. “The impressive commitment that our students have made through their service to others is evidence of that impact.”

Service hours were reported to the Office of Student Engagement via an online form and were tracked by leadership and service programs staff. Volunteer hours performed by individual students and student organizations were counted toward the total.

“Over the past five years, it has been rewarding to see our students engaging in service that helps their community and their university,” Jamie Bouldin, assistant director for student engagement for leadership and service, said. “In honor of such an important year for our school, it’s especially rewarding to see students work together to meet this goal.”

The Office of Student Engagement rewards students for their service hours by participating in the President’s Volunteer Service Award program. This year, 121 students and 45 registered student organizations qualified for a PVSA. Individuals and organizations must exceed 100 or 200 service hours, respectively, in a 12-month period in order to earn a PVSA. The awards were presented at the 8th annual ODK Leadership and Service Awards in April.

“In 2012-13, only 85 individuals and 19 organizations earned PVSAs, so it was exciting to see this 90,000-hour goal inspire more students and more groups to take part in service projects,” Bouldin said.

University Printing Services at Stephen F. Austin State University will be honored with the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association’s 2014 Print Center of the Year Award at the annual Educational Conference in Milwaukee in June.

The national award recognizes the efforts of the entire in-house staff of a corporate publishing operation that excels in efficient management practices and furthering the objectives of the parent company. IPMA has more than 500 members nationwide.

“SFA printing services won due to its operational turnaround, efficient management practices and the contributions of the entire staff,” said Rob Lingard, international president.

“Printing services re-structured many of its services to provide alternative production methods, providing customers with more successful direct-mail marketing and cross-media communications, while striving to reduce operational costs, increase sales volume and customer satisfaction.”

Printing services has a long established history of providing printed materials for its campus partners; however, for the last several years the department struggled to maintain a presence as a meaningful or even sustainable resource.

With a staff of only five full-time employees (including the director) and two students, printing services understood the need to modernize its services and expand into digital printing. A concerted effort was made to improve quality levels, provide faster turnaround times and deliver fairly priced materials and services. By 2013, printing services had experienced a 29-percent increase in sales.

“I knew that we had made tremendous strides in improving and had an opportunity to submit for this award, which I thought best reflects the appreciation the staff was due,” said John Yerger, director of printing services. “To be honored with this award by IPMA gives real recognition of our team’s efforts and is an astonishing achievement in its own right.”

Yerger was hired as the new director of printing services in 2013, and under his leadership, the department began assessing their expenditures and profits to provide stronger validation for their new, competitive pricing on their products and services offered.

“By using the information we had gathered, we were able to begin to bid more competitively on larger projects,” Yerger said. “As we worked with campus departments on these new projects, we were then able to help them discover new marketing avenues to lower their production costs.”
University Printing Services also took a proactive approach to learn from opportunities lost, he said. The department was able to consider job costs such as materials, labor and clicks, and allocated overheads and could choose to lower individual job pricing to retain larger jobs.

“Stephen F. Austin University and the campus departments have benefited through lower costs and improved products and services that are the direct results of the diligence and good work of the University Printing Services’ staff,” Yerger said.

“I am very proud of the work my team has done to improve the strategic relevance of the in-plant printing facility to Stephen F. Austin State University.”

For more information on how University Printing Services can assist you, please contact (936) 468-2305 or email printingservices@sfasu.edu.

University Printing Services at Stephen F. Austin State University is receiving the In-plant Printing and Mailing Association’s 2014 Print Center of the Year Award. Pictured, from left, are staff members Stephen Boney, Jimmy McDaniel, John Yerger, Linda Choate and Rebecca Galatas.