Everything Nac

    Undergraduate academic achievements and research will be recognized at the annual Undergraduate Research Conference at Stephen F. Austin State University from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 7, in Regent’s Suite A and the Twilight Ballroom of the Baker Pattillo Student Center.

    More than 50 students from the university’s six colleges will share research and projects from the previous academic year. Project topics represent a diversity of SFA student scholarship and include examinations of rural poverty, research on the benefits of green tea for overall health, a geospatial analysis of population change in Texas, a study of the student investment center’s returns and a Nacogdoches Public Library mural project.

    “One of the things we are most proud of at SFA is the extent of meaningful engagement between faculty and students,” said Dr. Richard Berry, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

    “The breadth and depth of undergraduate research on our campus is an impressive indicator of how much student-teacher interaction is going on. It all makes for a greatly enhanced educational experience for our undergraduate students.”

    Six University Scholars selected from each college will present an in-depth analysis of their research findings in the Twilight Ballroom. University Scholars include: John Ramsey and Chris Boatman, Nelson Rusche College of Business; Michelle Carr and Bridget Livingston, James I. Perkins College of Education; June Parker, College of Fine Arts; Halden Packard, Arthur Temple College of Forestry; Zachary Overfield, College of Liberal and Applied Arts; and Katie Mitchell and Sherri Dornak, College of Science and Mathematics. Students from all six colleges also will present their research through poster presentations and demonstrations in the Twilight Ballroom.

    The conference is open to the public. For a detailed list of participants and their research topics, visit www.sfasu.edu/honors/urc/index.asp. For more information about the conference, contact Dr. Leslie Cecil at (936) 468-3980 or e-mail cecillg@sfasu.edu.

    To close its 50th season of bringing nationally acclaimed artists to Nacogdoches through the University Series, the Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts will present the American Bluegrass Masters Tour in W.M. Turner Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 7.

    The 15 musicians who will be picking, strumming and plucking their instruments and uniting their voices in close harmonies are some of the most highly regarded personalities in bluegrass music, explained Sylvia Bierschenk, director of SFA Arts Information.

Grand Ole Opry member Bobby Osborne and his band, the Rocky Top X-Press, will be one of four groups and solo artists performing during the American Bluegrass Masters Tour concert to be presented as a part of the Stephen F. Austin State University College of Fine Arts University Series at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 7, in W.M. Turner Auditorium.

    “Here, on one stage, we’ll have the great mandolin player and vocalist Bobby Osborne; two-time Grammy winner and guitarist Curtis Burch; and renowned banjo player Sammy Shelor, who is a four-time winner of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Banjo Player of the Year,” Bierschenk continued.

    The concert will open with the Dean Osborne Band and Curtis Burch, followed by Bobby Osborne and the Rocky Top X-Press.

    The second half of the program will feature Curtis Burch as a solo artist, followed by The New South with special guest Sammy Shelor.

    “We still have great seats available for this concert,” said Diane J. Flynn, Fine Arts Box Office manager. “We encourage patrons to purchase their tickets ahead of time in order to avoid long lines on the night of the concert and to arrive early to allow for parking.”

    Turner Auditorium is located in the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Dr.

    Prior to the concert, Charlie Jones, retired SFA art professor and local musician, will give an informative talk at 7 p.m. in Griffith Gallery, located across the hall from Turner Auditorium. The audience is invited back to the gallery after the performance for a reception honoring the event’s corporate sponsor, BancorpSouth, and to meet the artists.

    Tickets range from $17.50 to $35, with discounts available for seniors, students and youth. For tickets or more information, please visit www.finearts.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.