Everything Nac

Join the SFA Beef Center and Stephen F. Austin State University’s Nacogdoches Naturally Family Outdoor Adventure Program for “Farm and Forestry Day” from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 26, at the Walter C. Todd Agricultural Research Center located 5.5 miles north of Nacogdoches on State Highway 259.

The free barnyard event is a chance for children and their families to be exposed to the farm animals at the SFA Beef Center and gain awareness of the many educational experiences available from SFA’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture.

“This is a way for the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture to give back to the community that supports it and provide community members and their families a memorable experience,” said Kerry Lemon, project director of Nacogdoches Naturally.

On display will be a variety of farm animals, including cows, goats, sheep, horses, pigs and donkeys, and many of the animals will have young offspring. In addition to educational booths, activities will include hayrides, face painting, outdoor cooking, crafts, games and more. The event will be family friendly with fun activities for all ages.

Designed to acquaint the community with the natural resource fields available at SFA, “Farm and Forestry Day” highlights the synergistic nature of agriculture and forest/wildlife management. Faculty members from the forestry and agriculture college have begun research in agroforestry and silvopasture at the SFA Beef Farm. Agroforestry and silvopasture involve growing lumber-producing trees with food crops or forage under the canopy.

The SFA Beef Center, operated by the SFA Department of Agriculture, provides hands-on instruction to undergraduate students and a place for graduate student research, as well as services to local producers, FFA members and 4-H members. To find the SFA Beef Center, travel north on State Highway 259 from Nacogdoches, and turn right on County Road 123 at the sign for the Walter C. Todd Agriculture Research Center. Continue past the Equestrian Center to the Beef Center.

For more information, contact Kerry Lemon at (936) 468-5586 or lemonkb@sfasu.edu or Dr. Erin Brown at (936) 468-3705 or browneg@sfasu.edu.

Dr. Harry Downing, professor and chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Stephen F. Austin State University, will present “Physics is Phundamental” at the upcoming Regents Lecture.

Downing, the 2013-14 Regents Professor, will deliver the address at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 22, in the Miller Science Building Lecture Hall, Room 334, on the SFA campus. Refreshments will be served, and there is no admission charge.

Downing said his presentation will focus on examples and demonstrations in the realm of physics “that have proven throughout the years to entertain and stimulate the mind.” The lecture will involve the audience, he said.

Downing joined the SFA faculty in 1975 and has served as physics and astronomy chair since 1988. He has taught courses in general physics, introduction to engineering/physics, technical physics, engineering statics, engineering dynamics and mathematical applications in physics.

His many honors include Teaching Excellence Awards from both the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the College of Sciences and Mathematics; Best Pedagogical Paper from the Texas Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers; the Robert N. Little Award for Outstanding Contributions to Physics Higher Education in Texas from TSAAPT; and the Outstanding Society of Physics Students Chapter Adviser Award.

Downing earned his bachelor’s degree in physics from Arkansas State University in 1968 and his master’s and doctoral degrees in physics from Florida State University in 1970 and 1973.

This is the ninth in a series of lectures delivered by SFA Regents Professors. The title of Regents Professor is the highest honor SFA bestows upon members of the faculty and is held for one full academic year.

The series is sponsored by the SFA Office of the Provost and the University Lecture Series Committee. For more information, call (936) 468-2605.

The Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts and School of Music will present Dr. Stephen Lias, Dr. Nathan Nabb and Dr. James Pitts performing “Outside In – Inside Out,” a faculty recital, at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 27, in Cole Concert Hall on the SFA campus.

The recital will be comprised of three large works, two of which are world premieres, composed by Lias, who is professor of composition at SFA. Staff pianist Pitts will accompany on two of the program pieces.

“The common thread that runs through the music on this recital is the inspiration drawn from other disciplines in the fine arts,” Lias said.

Lias explains that his music reaches into literature, theatre and photography to find universal themes that can be translated into music.

“This process of taking external ideas, internalizing them, and then allowing them to reemerge in a different form is common to both the composer and performer in this case,” he said.

The program features “Five Characters from David Copperfield” for saxophone and narrator.

“Each of the five movements in this set focuses on individual fictional characters in Dickens’ great novel,” Lias said. The selection features Nabb, associate professor of saxophone, on saxophone with Lias narrating.

“Imaginary Folksongs” for saxophone and piano will be premiered in the program. These are six resettings of songs and dances originally written for live theatrical productions, including plays by William Shakespeare, Oliver Goldsmith and Peter Shaffer.

“Ranging from melancholy to boisterous, they explore the indigenous folk music of imagined cultures,” Lias said.

“Range of Light” for saxophone and piano will also be premiered. This four-movement sonata is based on Ansel Adams’ iconic photographs of Yosemite National Park. Lias has been writing music about the national parks for a number of years.

“Collaborating with composers is always a fantastic experience for performers, but this is a very unique and special situation,” Nabb said. “To work with Steve, who is such a fine composer and great friend, makes this all the more enjoyable. I am very excited to give the world premiere of both ‘Imaginary Folksongs’ and ‘Range of Light’ on this recital, and am honored these works were written for me.”

This premiere coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, Lias said.

“Imaginary Folksongs” and “Range of Light” feature Nabb on saxophone and Pitts on piano.

Admission to the recital is free.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre will present the student-directed one-act play “No Exit” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 25, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 26, in the Downstage Theatre on the SFA campus.

Written by Jean-Paul Sartre, “No Exit” will be directed by Weatherford senior theatre major Austin Holt. It is the story of three people – Garcin, Estelle and Inez – who are “stuck in hell with each other,” Holt said.

“As the three characters try to determine why they are in hell and how they are to be tormented,” she said, “they soon come to the conclusion that they will act as torturers for each other.”

The cast features Nnamdi Nwankwo, Pearland junior, as Garcin; Pedro Dominguez, Pharr freshman, as the valet; Jennifer Bush, Edgewood senior, as Inez; and Marley Graham, Port Neches sophomore, as Estelle.

The production team includes MJ Myer, Jacksonville senior, stage manager; Caitlin Parker, Groves freshman, scenic designer; Nicole Novit, Dallas senior, costume designer; Troy Carrico, Austin sophomore, lighting designer; and Bruce Moran, Kingwood sophomore, sound designer.

Holt’s previous credits include directing “The New Land” and serving as stage manager for “Romeo and Juliet,” “Godspell,” “bobbrauschenbergamerica,” Madwoman of Chaillot” and “WASP.” She designed sound for “Lone Star” and “Language of Angels” and was assistant sound designer for “Blood Wedding.”

Faculty advisor for this production is Scott Shattuck, director of the School of Theatre.

The play is recommended for mature audiences.

Admission is $3. The Downstage Theatre is located on the first floor of the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407.

New annual scholarships totaling $200,000 for Stephen F. Austin State University students preparing for careers in the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) were approved by the Board of Regents Tuesday.

The scholarships will be funded almost entirely through the university’s annual exclusive rights contract with Coca-Cola. Additionally, the regents established 11 campus residence scholarships for students who transfer to SFA as STEM majors. Those students will reside in a university-owned apartment complex located at 309 E. Starr Ave.

The scholarships are the latest evidence of the university’s strong commitment to STEM education to help meet a critical need in Texas and the nation to prepare more college graduates in these high-demand fields, according to Dr. Kim Childs, dean of SFA’s College of Sciences and Mathematics.

“As I have said many times, we are a nation at risk,” Childs told the regents during a meeting of the Finance and Audit Committee on Monday. “SFA cannot fix the shortage of STEM majors across the nation, but we can produce more STEM majors in our region, and that, in turn, will strengthen our state and our nation as we widen the STEM pipeline.”

Requirements and eligibility criteria for the new STEM scholarships will be established by the College of Sciences and Mathematics, and the first of the awards will be granted for the fall 2014 semester, she said.

The Board of Regents also approved an increase in designated tuition for the 2014-15 academic year during the quarterly meeting Tuesday. Designated tuition will be $171 per semester credit hour beginning in fall 2014, increasing from $158 per hour. The publication fee will increase from $6 to $8 per semester credit hour, and the technology fee will increase from $22 to $23 for a total difference of about $240 for a 15-hour semester. Regents also approved room-and-board rates that will increase 3.5 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively.

“(Setting the annual tuition rate) is a laborious process and certainly one that is not taken lightly,” said Dr. Scott Coleman of Houston, chairman of the board’s Finance and Audit Committee. “We are not here to make money. We are here to provide a service and to take care of the people who are providing that service.”

During the committee meeting, regents and administrators discussed several leading factors that contributed to the decision to increase tuition slightly, including an extraordinary increase in the number of students, including military veterans and dependents, who receive tuition and fee exemptions mandated by the Texas Legislature, as well as the need to offer more competitive salaries for SFA faculty and staff members.

The regents adopted a summer budget totaling approximately $3.9 million. The figure represents an increase of more than $200,000 from last year’s summer budget and includes approximately $2.29 million for faculty salaries and benefits.

House Bill 29, passed last year by the Texas Legislature, requires public universities to offer a fixed-rate tuition plan for all undergraduate students that is guaranteed not to change for 12 consecutive semesters. The regents approved an optional fixed-rate tuition plan for SFA on Tuesday. The fixed-rate designated tuition charge for new freshmen entering SFA this fall will be $192 per semester credit hour.

In other business, the Board of Regents voted to:
· continue with Merrill Lynch as its external investment management firm;
· approve various undergraduate and graduate curriculum changes for the university;
· establish course and lab fees, a distance education fee, and a study abroad student fee waiver for Fiscal Year 2015;
· revise various policies related to academic and student affairs, building and grounds, and financial affairs;
· accept additional grant awards allocable to Fiscal Year 2014 totaling more than $397,500;
· work with Siemens Industry Inc. to begin the third phase of the university’s energy-savings contract;
· add a center handrail to existing aisles inside William R. Johnson Coliseum to increase safety and accessibility in the facility;
· complete renovations at a university-owned apartment complex on Starr Avenue that will be inhabited by STEM honors students beginning this fall;
· install new fire sprinkler systems in Griffith and Kerr halls;
· purchase new software and/or maintenance for existing software concerning library services, academic space utilization and student e-portfolio services;
· exempt dual-credit students from payment of statutory and designated tuition and other fees; and
· re-designate the traditional spirit logo that has been in place at SFA since 2004 as the university’s official logo.