Everything Nac

    Sharp reductions in state funding of higher education factored heavily in Tuesday’s decision by the Stephen F. Austin Station University Board of Regents to raise tuition and room-and-board rates for the coming academic year.

    Designated tuition will be raised from $124.40 to $141.86 per semester credit hour beginning in fall 2012, increasing the cost of a 15-hour semester by $291. Additionally, room-and-board rates will increase 2.5 percent and 2.0 percent, respectively. Together, the room-and-board rates will equate to an increase of about $96 per student each semester.

    Raising costs for students is something the Board of Regents does not take lightly, according to Dr. Scott Coleman of Houston, chairman of the board’s finance and audit committee.

    “This is a huge issue for us because it directly impacts those we are trying to serve – the student body itself,” he said.

    “Providing the services we do and the courses we want to offer and the education quality we have is paramount in our thoughts. We don’t take this lightly. (We do our best) to make sure that what we bring forward to you is something that will continue the university’s function yet still provide a quality service for the students.”

    Coleman said SFA’s tuition currently falls about in the middle of what institutions across the state are charging for a college education. However, while six-year graduation rates have been on the decline statewide, SFA has reported steady increases in the past five years.

    The regents adopted a summer budget totaling approximately $3.57 million. The figure represents a decrease of approximately $1 million from last year’s summer budget, which was achieved by temporarily reducing the pay scale for faculty members teaching summer courses, according to Dr. Richard Berry, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

    The board also approved issuing a Request for Qualifications for an architectural firm and a Request for Proposal for a construction manager at risk to begin the construction phase of a planned conservation education center at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center. The project will be funded by donations.

    The administration also was authorized to enter into an agreement with South Texas Technology Management for invention management and any subsequent agreements necessary to jointly manage or market university-owned intellectual property developed by faculty and staff members within the scope of their employment with the university. STTM provides comprehensive and integrated technology development services to their affiliates, from initial evaluation of an invention to patenting and marketing.

    During the meeting Tuesday, the Board of Regents also approved:

· A list of small classes for the spring 2012 semester;

· Undergraduate and graduate curriculum changes as recommended by the administration;

· Renaming the Department of General Business within the Nelson Rusche College of Business the Department of Business Communication and Legal Studies;

· Changing the name of the Department of Chemistry within the College of Sciences and Mathematics to the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry;

· The purchase of four shuttle buses at a cost not to exceed $400,000;

· Utilizing the services of CoBro Consulting to provide comprehensive program assessment, data analysis and evaluation services for the GEAR UP for Success Project to meet grant requirements;

· Set course and lab fees for Fiscal Year 2013;

· Use available fund balances for the early pay off of SECO loan obligations totaling $3.92 million;

· Renew the lease of space in the Baker Pattillo Student Center with Commercial Bank of Texas for an additional five years;

· Grant awards allocable to Fiscal Year 2012 totaling more than $333,000; and

· Various policy revisions.

    Following a national search, Dr. Kimberly Childs was named dean of Stephen F. Austin State University’s College of Sciences and Mathematics by the Board of Regents Tuesday.

     A professor of mathematics at SFA, Childs has been serving as interim dean for the past year and also directs the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Research and Learning Center. She has previously served as associate dean in the college.

     Childs, a native of Galveston, joined the faculty of the SFA Department of Mathematics and Statistics16 years ago after teaching in high schools in Galveston and Jacksonville, as well as at Lon Morris College. She earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Dallas Baptist University and her master’s in mathematics teaching from SFA. She received a doctorate degree in mathematics education from Texas A&M University.

     The Board of Regents also approved numerous additional faculty and staff appointments, changes of status, promotions and retirements at the meeting Tuesday. Faculty appointments included: Erik Byker, assistant professor of elementary education; Donald Gooch, assistant professor of government; David Rex-Galindo, assistant professor of Latin American history; and Daniel Bennett and Jennifer Gumm, assistant professors of biology.

     Staff appointments included: Samantha Mora, alumni events and engagement director in Alumni Affairs; Suzanne Heffernan, aquatics coordinator in campus recreation; Anne Uhyrek, accountant III in the controller’s office; June Parker, graphics shop supervisor; Maureen Havard, physican assistant in health services; Wayne Meier, programmer/analyst I in information technology services; and Donna Parish, marketing communication specialist in public affairs.

     Staff appointment in athletics included: Kevin Carberry, Richard Olin and Troy Rogers, assistant football coaches; Daniel Georgalas, assistant volleyball coach; Joshua Jorgensen, coordinator of athletic operations; and Samantha Robinson, athletic academic services assistant. In addition, Nathan Schneider moved from athletic academic services assistant to assistant football coach.

     Additional changes of status were approved for the College of Liberal and Applied Arts: Kwame Antwi-Boasiako, from associate professor of government to associate professor and interim chair of the Department of Government; Mark Barringer, from associate professor of history and associate dean to associate professor and chair of the Department of History; and Robert Szafran, from professor of social and cultural analysis to professor and chair of the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis.

     Changes of status in the Department of Information Technology Services included: William Croft, from instructional systems administrator to systems programmer I; Daniel Duplechian, from programmer/analyst II to programmer/analyst III; and Allena Kendall and Jacquelyn Vose, from programmer/analyst I to programmer/analyst II.

     Other changes of status approved by the regents included: Jennifer Bailey, from associate director of Project ENLANCE to director of Project CONFIANZA in the Department of Secondary Education and Educational Leadership; Fred Allen, from director of bands to professor of music and director of bands; and Randall Scott, from coordinator to director of Piney Woods Area Health Education Center.

     The following retirements were approved by the Board of Regents: Mitzi Blackburn, alumni activities/events director; Florence Elliot-Howard, associate professor of general business; Debbie Ellisor and Mary Pack, clinical instructors of nursing; and Betty Johnson, professor of general business.

     The Board of Regents also approved numerous faculty promotions. To assistant professor: Erin Bailey and Tamara Harris, nursing; and Adam Akerson, Tracey Hasbun and Robin Johnson, Elementary Education.

     To associate professor: Linda Black, Kerry Roberts, Mark Seaman, Sandra Stewart and Janet Tareilo, secondary education; Mario Ajero, music; Todd Brown, economics and finance; Wesley Brown, geology; Wilma Cordova, social work; Dianne Dentice, sociology; Jeremy Heider, psychology; George Hunt, accounting; Matthew Kwiatkowski, biology; Alan Larson, human services; Steven Marsden, English; Michael Maurer, agriculture; Matthew McBroom, Daniel Scognamillo and Pat Stephens-Williams, forestry; Kefa Onchoke, chemistry; Karren Price, criminal justice; Le’Ann Solmonson, human services; and Scott Sosebee, history.

     To professor: Charlotte Allen, management, marketing and international business; Christopher Ayer, music; Angela Bacarisse, theatre; Lesa Beverly, Roy Joe Harris and Sarah Stovall, mathematics; Dean Coble and Warren Conway, forestry; Joyce Johnston, modern languages; and Emmerentie Oliphant, social work.

     To professor emeritus: Alan Nielsen and Allen Oster, theatre; and Dillard Tinsley, management and marketing.

     In addition, Greg Bailey was promoted to librarian II, and Jennifer Brancato was promoted to archivist II.

     The following SFA faculty members were granted tenure by the Board of Regents: Mario Ajero, Gene Moon and Jorge Salas, music; Brian Beavers, Jeremy Becnel and Kent Riggs, mathematics; Linda Black, Kerry Roberts, Mark Seaman, Sandra Stewart and Janet Tareilo, secondary education; Todd Brown and Mikhail Kouliavtsev, economics and finance; Wesley Brown, geology; Wilma Cordova and Emmerentie Oliphant, social work; Dianne Dentice, sociology, Tracey Hasbun, Jannah Nerren and Claudia Whitley, elementary education; Jeremy Heider, psychology; George Hunt, accounting; Matthew Kwiatkowski, biology; Alan Larson and Le’Ann Solmonson, human services; Steven Marsden, English; Michael Maurer, agriculture; Matthew McBroom, Daniel Scognamillo and Pat Stephens-Williams, forestry; Kefa Onchoke, chemistry; Karren Price, criminal justice; and Scott Sosebee, history.

     Dr. Brian Oswald, professor of forestry, was named Regents Professor for the 2012-13 academic year.