Everything Nac

NACOGDOCHES, TEXAS – Two art exhibitions will open Friday, Oct. 26, in The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House as part of the Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts’ University Series.

An opening reception for “The World of William Joyce” and “Todd Slater: The Art of Rock” will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 26 in the art center located at 329 E. Main St. in downtown Nacogdoches.

“The World of William Joyce” will feature the paintings and drawings of the author and illustrator of more than 50 children’s books, such as “George Shrinks” and “Rolie Pole Olie.” Joyce has won an Oscar and three Emmys for his animations. This exhibition was organized by the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature, Abilene, Texas. It will open in the Ledbetter Gallery downstairs.

Also opening the same night in the upstairs Reavley Gallery, “Todd Slater: The Art of Rock” will feature the work of SFA graduate Slater, who earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in art in 2002. The show will highlight 25 examples of his original silkscreen posters featuring a who’s who of rock and roll band performances. Since graduating from SFA, Slater has created hundreds of posters featuring the music industry’s hottest acts, including The White Stripes, The Foo Fighters and Radiohead.

These two exhibitions take the place of “Contemporary Texas Visions in Hispanic Art,” which was canceled but may be rescheduled at a later date. Both shows are open through Jan. 12. Gallery hours are from 12:30 to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Holiday hours may vary.

The exhibitions are presented by the SFA School of Art and are sponsored in part by the Nacogdoches Junior Forum and the SFA Friends of the Visual Arts. All exhibitions, receptions and gallery talks are free and open to the public.

For more information, call (936) 468-1131 or visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The SFA Gardens will host its monthly Les Reeves Garden Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, in the Agriculture Building, Room 110, on Wilson Drive at Stephen F. Austin State University. Dawn Stover, longtime SFA Gardens research associate, will present an entertaining program titled “Why Dr. Creech Rocks as a Boss.”

Dr. David Creech joined the SFA faculty in 1978 and is director of the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture’s SFA Mast Arboretum, a 10-acre, on-campus resource that has enjoyed steady growth and utilization since its inception in 1985. Creech also directs the eight-acre Ruby M. Mize Azalea Garden, featuring more than 6,000 azaleas, 200 varieties of Japanese maples, camellias and hydrangeas, and numerous other special collections. He is co-director of the 40-acre SFA Pineywoods Native Plant Center, a garden affiliated with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin.

As a research associate in the arboretum directed by Creech, Stover maintains the living plant collection and is responsible for maintenance of the arboretum and the horticulture facilities. She also manages two successful annual sales, coordinating student workers and volunteers for the events, which provide additional funding and community outreach.

Stover serves as editor of Garden News, a quarterly newsletter published for Arboretum members, and writes for other garden-related publications. As part of her research responsibilities, Stover trials a wide range of herbaceous plant material and disseminates information within the horticulture industry, as well as the gardening public. She is an instructor in SFA’s Department of Agriculture, teaching a course on annuals and perennials.

The Theresa and Les Reeves Garden Lecture Series is normally held the third Thursday of each month. A rare plant raffle will be held after the program. The lecture is free and open to the public, but donations to the Theresa and Les Reeves lecture series endowed fund are always appreciated. For more information, call (936) 468-1832 or e-mail grantdamon@sfasu.edu.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Global leadership changes and their potential impacts on the Texas economy will be discussed during a conference titled “The U.S. and Middle East: The Future Relationship” Oct. 18-19 at the Magnolia Hotel in Houston.

The conference is hosted by Stephen F. Austin State University, the Center for International Studies at the University of St. Thomas, the Egyptian Consulate of Houston, and the Consulate General of Israel to the Southwest.

Dr. Brian Murphy, dean of SFA’s College of Liberal and Applied Arts and one of the conference organizers, said the importance of the Middle East to Texas and the United States is beyond dispute. In addition to more than half of the known reserves of oil, the area holds more than 30 percent of the known reserves of natural gas, and Morocco alone has up to 80 percent of the known reserves of phosphates.

“These resources make the region a strategic cog of economic development for the world,” Murphy said.

Although the Middle East’s deep cultural and scientific contributions have shaped knowledge for centuries, political relationships within and among nations have frustrated the movement toward regional harmony.

“Recent events, however, are changing the dynamics of how the Middle East operates as a partner to the United States,” Murphy said. “This is a historic moment where a new understanding of the Middle East is needed by Americans, an understanding that is free from ideological bias and past perceptions.”

The conference will begin with registration at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18. A session titled “The New Agenda in the Middle East” begins at 2 p.m. and includes Chase Untermeyer, an international business consultant and former U.S. ambassador to Qatar; Parvathaneni Harish, consul general of India; and Ben-Dror Yemini, opinion page editor for Maariv, a Hebrew language daily newspaper published in Israel. A reception begins at 3:30 pm.

The conference resumes at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 19 with a seminar titled “The Political Context: Governance, Regional Cooperation and Demographics.” Speakers include Nader Hashemi, professor and director of the Center for Middle East Studies, University of Denver; Alan G. Misenheimer, director of the U.S. State Department’s Office of Near East and South Asia Affairs in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research; and Thomas W. Lippman, Middle East Institute scholar.

Participants in a 10:30 a.m. session titled “The Security Context: National Defense, Regional Threats and Social Well-Being” include Roby Barrett, president of Stratplan International and a senior fellow with the Strategic Studies Department, Joint Special Operations University at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida; Marvin Weinbaum, scholar-in-residence at the Middle East Institute; and Michael Ryan, senior fellow with the Jamestown Foundation, a network of former government officials and military officers, political scientists, and economists that provides research and analysis regarding conflict and instability in Eurasia.

A noon luncheon will feature a roundtable discussion with participating consuls general. Cost for the lunch is $40, with a reduced rate of $25 for students.

An afternoon session, “The Economic Context: Resources, Globalization and Prosperity,” begins at 1:30 and features Hisham Foad, director of the Center for Islamic and Arabic Studies at San Diego State University; Augustus Richard Norton, director of the Institute for Iraqi Studies at Boston University; and Riza Demirer, associate professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The day will end with a panel discussion of policy recommendations.

All events are open to the public, and with the exception of the luncheon, programs are free of charge. To register, go to www.sfasu.edu/middle-east or call (936) 468-2385.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas—The Homecoming bonfire, one of Stephen F. Austin State University’s most popular traditions, will return to the campus at 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19, at the corner of Starr Avenue and Wilson Drive.

After last year’s severe drought and resulting burn bans forced an alternative “nonfire” with electric lights, the SFA community is proud to bring back this long-standing tradition.

“At the SFA football game versus Central Arkansas, it rained 10 inches,” said Dr. Adam Peck, dean of student affairs. “While there, a die-hard Lumberjack fan in the Purple Haze section turned to me, soaking wet, and said ‘At least we know there will definitely be a bonfire!’”

Along with the torchlight parade, pep rally and fireworks display, the bonfire will mark the beginning of Homecoming weekend. Country music entertainer Aaron Watson will perform a free concert at the bonfire, and the event also will feature appearances from the SFA spirit teams, band, football coaches and Homecoming court.

Homecoming activities for Saturday, Oct. 20, will begin with the fourth annual Homecoming 5K Fun Run at 8 a.m. at the Schlief Tennis Complex, followed by the downtown Homecoming parade at 10 a.m. Tailgating at Homer Bryce stadium will begin at 11:30 a.m., and the SFA versus Nicholls State football game will kick off at 3 p.m.

For more information and a complete listing of SFA Homecoming activities, visit www.sfasu.edu/studentaffairs/94.asp or contact Lacey Claver at (936) 468-1367.