Everything Nac

On Tuesday, Stephen F. Austin State University announced its naming of Rockwall and Rockwall-Heath high schools as partner schools chosen for inclusion in the university’s Distinguished High School Program.

This partnership means that top-ranking graduates from the high schools will be automatically eligible for scholarships worth up to $20,000. Inclusion in the program also means all Rockwall and Rockwall-Heath students may waive the $50 application fee, and seniors ranking in the top 30% of their class are guaranteed admission to SFA.

“At SFA, we are fully committed to student success and access, meaning we are constantly seeking new and innovative ways to help ensure Texans have affordable access to higher education,” said SFA President Dr. Scott Gordon. “Our Distinguished High School Program recognizes hardworking high school students by helping them obtain their college degree in a more timely and affordable manner.”

Students from partner schools automatically receive scholarship money for up to four years based on their class rank. Of those who apply to SFA from distinguished program schools, students ranking in the top 10% of their class will receive $5,000 per year, and students ranking in the 11-25% of their class with a 3.0 GPA or higher will receive $3,000 per year. Submission of a scholarship application is not required.

“Rockwall ISD is excited to join other school districts across the state in SFA’s Distinguished High School Program. We view this new partnership as an extension of our strategic plan goal to enhance the learner experience,” said Dr. Kelvin Stroy, Rockwall ISD chief student services officer.

Benefits also include additional financial aid assistance to students with high financial need; a special, tailored campus visit; and an assigned admissions counselor to serve students throughout the college-enrollment process.

Students from distinguished program schools applying as first-time college students at GoApplyTexas.org also should submit official SAT/ACT scores and high school transcripts to the SFA Office of Admissions. For more information about applying to SFA, visit sfasu.edu/apply or call (936) 468-2504.

The artwork of Shaun Roberts, associate professor of art at Stephen F. Austin State University, was awarded first place and selected as People’s Choice Award in the World Wide Kitsch Competition 2021.

The World Wide Kitsch Competition is a an annual international competition of classical paintings. Hundreds of painters compete across the globe but only a select group make it to the finalist category. This year’s jurors included Öde Nerdrum, a Norwegian painter and son of Odd Nerdrum, founder of the Kitsch movement; Marjan Bakhtiarikish, an Australian painter and winner of the WWK competition in 2020; and Cheng Wu, a Chinese painter. Winners are selected by jurors, but the People’s Choice Award is selected by public voting through social media.

As the first place winner, Roberts won a travel certificate for an interview at Cave of Apelles and the Kitsch bronze locket. In addition, first and second place were awarded the book “Kitsch More Than Art” by Odd Nerdrum, Jan-Ove Tuv and others and the first edition of Sivilisasjonen Magazine. The Cave of Apelles is a talk show surrounding long-form conversations on classical culture, myths and philosophy, according to information at Caveofapelles.com. It has its name from the Greek painter Apelles, considered the greatest of the ancient old masters and a source of inspiration to artist titans such as Rembrandt, Velasquez and Odd Nerdrum, according to Roberts.

“Winning the award is a true honor for me, because I am competing against the best painters in my field, many of whom I truly admire and hold a great deal of respect for,” Roberts said. “To win the WWK Competition has been a dream.”

Chris Talbot, director of the SFA School of Art, is appreciative that Roberts is getting “such high-level recognition” for his work.

“He works very hard and makes large, ambitious and complicated paintings,” Talbot said. “He is an inspiration to his students both in his example as a successful artist and in the attention that he dedicates to them in the classroom.”

Roberts said that Kitsch is “an international movement” made up of classical painters. It incorporates techniques of the old masters with narrative, romanticism and emotionally charged imagery. The movement defines Kitsch as synonymous with the arts of ancient Rome or ancient Greece, the Renaissance and Aristotelian philosophy. Kitsch painters embrace Kitsch as a positive term, not in opposition to “art,” but as its own independent superstructure.

Though not connected to the WWK competition, Roberts has also been invited to do a month-long residency at the studio of Odd Nerdrum. In order to receive the invitation, Roberts had to apply by making a self-portrait from life and ship the work to Norway along with a paragraph talking about his work for review.

“I have always admired great painters and storytellers,” Roberts said, “specifically how works made hundreds or thousands of years in the past still hold such powerful meaning and influence over me. Perhaps this is what led me to become a painter. Much like my influences, I strive to bring a timeless narrative filled with pathos, sentimentality and sensuality to my work.”

Roberts believes storytelling through various artistic forms is more relevant today than ever, “in our chaotic times.”

“As a society, we have mainly become self-absorbed in digital worlds with our devices,” he said. “Social media has replaced meaningful relationships, detached us from or distorted our realities and, in my opinion, destroyed our empathy for one another. It is easy to dehumanize and to be dehumanized. One might argue that a lack of empathy has played a significant role in the dire circumstances we currently face each day. Precisely what I want to reintroduce to my audience through universal stories is empathy.”

Roberts employs various techniques and methods in his paintings to construct realism. He explains that the goal is “not a photographic representation, but to convey a visceral moment that feels like a lived experience. I observe, adapt and combine approaches that I find in the great works of masters stretching from Hellenistic Greece to the Baroque periods.”

He said he does not paint a picture, but instead paints “a moment in motion, a story or a dream.”

“I’m fascinated by the history of objects and their stories,” Roberts said. “I want my paintings to have that same sense of wonder. I think this kind of sentimentality is a common experience to which we all can relate. To enter the eternal realm of the universal, one must ignore the individual’s voice and step outside of personal expression, strip the work of one’s individualistic views and time and replace it with a sense of common individuality. To acknowledge a pastness of the present, something that all humans from any time can relate to, you then achieve something universal and outside of yourself.

“The painting becomes better than the painter,” he said. “I have chosen a difficult path filled with goals I may never achieve, but the journey is well worth the sacrifice for me.”

To contact Roberts, or for information about the SFA School of Art, call (936) 468-4804 or visit art.sfasu.edu.

The Stephen F. Austin State University Board of Regents met Sunday and acknowledged receipt of 2020-2021 Annual Financial Report and an audit services report that showed the university is in solid financial health.

The university recently participated in an external audit services review of its annual financial statements by the independent accounting firm of Belt Harris Pechacek at the request of the Board of Regents. Robert Belt, BHP managing partner, presented the independent accountant’s review report, which showed that SFA ended the year with a $17 million increase in net position and concluded that the accountants were not aware of any material modifications needed for the financial statements to be in accordance with accounting principles.

Judith Kruwell, interim vice president of finance and administration, presented the annual financial report, which was submitted, as required, to the Texas State Comptroller’s Office on Nov. 20.

“SFA’s financial information is combined into the State of Texas annual comprehensive financial report,” Kruwell said. “We typically present this report during the January meeting, but wanted to present it in conjunction with the report from external audit services review.”

Kruwell stated that a version of the AFR for the fiscal year 2021 was prepared in the same manner as fiscal year 2020 and 2019 financial statements required in the accreditation process by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

“These Annual Financial Statements reflect SFA’s information independent from the State of Texas’ annual comprehensive financial report,” Kruwell said.

During the Audit Services report, Gina Oglesbee, SFA’s chief audit executive, presented a special project report on the university’s budget.

“An analysis of net position adjusts the unrestricted net position for non-cash governmental accounting accruals for items such as future pension and health benefits,” Oglesbee said. “With this analysis, SFA’s adjusted unrestricted net position was $116 million, which is an increase of $30 million from the end of the previous fiscal year.”

Belt said that for government entities and universities, the availability of funds representing 25% of operating expenses, or 90 days of reserves, is an indicator of good financial health, and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges uses these measures in their analysis for accreditation of all universities.

“As of Aug. 31, 2021, SFA’s adjusted unrestricted net position represents 45.4% of operating expenses, which is well above the 25% benchmark,” he said. “For the 90-day benchmark, SFA had 164 days in reserves, which is an excess of 74 days over the benchmark.”

Belt said SFA’s benchmarks are equal to or more favorable than other State of Texas agencies and peer institutions.

Oglesbee explained that questions regarding university expenses sometimes arise based on the source used to obtain financial information.

“The university’s annual financial report, or AFR, is prepared on the accrual basis of accounting,” she said. “However, the university’s budget is prepared on a cash basis of accounting and does not include all the expenses that are reported on an accrual basis in the AFR. For example, the AFR includes expenses reported in the National Association of College and University Business Officers’ functional classifications for instruction, research, public service and academic support, and using this data, the percentage of SFA’s actual expenses for academics is 60.3%. In our university budget, it appears that 30.8% percent is budgeted for academics.”

Oglesbee said accrual-basis accounting gives the most complete picture of expenditures.

Additional analysis of the annual financial report will be presented to regents at the board’s January meeting.

“The efforts of our auditors and our new financial leadership are bringing greater clarity and transparency to the university’s finances,” SFA President Scott Gordon said. “It is vital that we make budgets and financial reports more accessible for everyone to understand the positive outlook SFA has ahead.”

For more information, visit www.sfasu.edu/regents.