Everything Nac

Two administrators new to Stephen F. Austin State University were among the appointments approved by its Board of Regents during the group’s quarterly meeting Monday.

Andrew Dies was named assistant vice president of student affairs and dean of students. Dies previously served as dean of students at Northern Arizona University, where he was chief student conduct officer and the primary contact for students in crisis, in addition to serving on the emergency management team and the academic standards committee.

He received his Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Kansas at Lawrence and his Master of Education in higher education administration from North Carolina State University in Raleigh. He is currently completing his dissertation at Georgia Southern University for a doctoral degree in educational leadership.

Mickey Diez is serving as SFA Registrar. He has 21 years of experience in higher education, spending 13 of those years as a university registrar. He previously served as the registrar for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Diez holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Business Administration from Nicholls State University in Thibodaux. He is currently completing his dissertation for a doctoral degree in educational leadership from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Freddie Avant, associate dean of the College of Liberal and Applied Arts and director of the School of Social Work, was named interim dean of research and graduate studies.

In the Rusche College of Business, Carol Wright, associate professor, was approved as interim chair of business communications and legal studies, and Justin Blount, associate professor, was approved as interim assistant chair of business communications and legal studies. Regents also approved the appointment of Jamie Kurash as visiting assistant professor of economics and finance and Jamie Derrick as lecturer of management and marketing.

In the College of Fine Arts, Professor Gary Wurtz, director of the School of Music, was approved as interim dean of the College of Fine Arts. Nathan Nabb, professor of music, is serving as interim director of the School of Music. Tamey Anglley was promoted from associate professor/associate director of bands to associate professor/director of bands.

Regents also approved the appointments of Kristen Blossom, assistant professor, and James McDaniel, lecturer, in the School of Theatre; Andrea Denis, Kathryn Fenton, and Minhae Lee, assistant professors, and Margaret Fay, visiting assistant professor, in the School of Music; and Erik Ordaz Lozano, visiting lecturer/exhibit coordinator, and Selma Morales Roberts, visiting assistant professor, in the School of Art.

In the Perkins College of Education, Heeok Jeong was appointed assistant professor of education studies, Jennifer Luque as clinical instructor of human sciences, Pietro Sasso as assistant professor of educational leadership, and Keilea Sumrall as assistant professor of kinesiology and health sciences.

Stephanie Strahl was promoted from academic advisor II to academic advisor III in College of Education Academic Services, and Hayley Tutt was promoted from assistant teacher to lead teacher in the Early Childhood Lab. Tiffany Carr was appointed teacher/counselor, and Michelle Brazeil was appointed assistant bursar in the Charter School.

In the College of Liberal and Applied Arts, Andrew Lannen, associate professor of history, was named interim chair of the Department of History, and Emmerentie Oliphant, professor of social work, was named interim director of the School of Social Work.

Mario Morera-Jimenez was appointed visiting assistant professor of languages, cultures and communication; Alicia Moss was appointed visiting assistant professor, and Stephanie Washington was appointed assistant professor, social work; Rebecca Spears was appointed visiting lecturer of English and creative writing; and Lydia Towns was appointed lecturer of history.

In the College of Sciences and Mathematics, Odutayo Odunuga, professor of chemistry, was named interim chair of the department. Jason Pratscher was appointed assistant professor of mathematics and statistics, and Hacer Varol was appointed assistant professor of physics, engineering and astronomy. Laurel Matthews was promoted from clinical instructor to assistant professor of nursing. In the STEM Center, Cynthia Maurstad was appointed teaching and learning coordinator.

Anusha Shrestha was appointed assistant professor of forestry in the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture.

The appointment of Judith Kruwell, associate vice president of finance and administration, as interim vice president was approved by regents. In financial and administrative services, Michaelyn Green was promoted from director of administrative services to director of treasury and student business services. Amy Mooneyham was promoted from accounting clerk III to assistant bursar in the controller’s office.

In financial aid, Tammy Mitchum was promoted from assistant director to associate director, Irish Beason and Sara Williams were promoted from counselor I to counselor II, Matthew Miller and Donna Story were promoted to counselor III.

Regents approved the appointments of Dontae Armstrong and Carl Mackey as area coordinators in Residence Life. Judy Duffin was promoted from residence life operations coordinator to staff services supervisor. Gavin McCarty, former director of print and postal services, was approved as assistant director for the student center. Alex Reisinger was promoted from supervisor to manager for the Axe Handle one-stop shop. Raquel Skidmore was promoted from coordinator to director of student success.

In Campus Recreation, Justin Ellerbe was appointed assistant director, and Jacie Klose and Jasmine Randolph were appointed coordinators. Karissa Rickman was appointed a nurse in health services, and in the post office, Bobbie Stewart was appointed manager. Clare Fite was promoted from counselor to director in counseling services, and Natalie Buuck was promoted from coordinator of disability support services to assistant director of disability services.

In admissions, Kimberly Morris was promoted from associate director of admissions to director for enrollment and communication strategies. Emily Jefferson was promoted from coordinator of transfer students for admissions to director for undergraduate enrollment. Courtney Branton was promoted from coordinator to assistant director, and Amy Kobuck was promoted from regional coordinator to senior regional coordinator. Janet McLeroy was promoted from assistant director to program director of admissions.

Barbara Olds was promoted from manager of e-resources and assessment to manager of technical services in the Steen Library. Beverly Morehouse was promoted from sponsored programs specialist to sponsored programs specialist senior in research and graduate studies.

In athletics, regents approved Chamissa Anderson as women’s basketball assistant coach, Charles Crawford as director athletic program video services, Jon-Paolo D’Este as strength and conditioning assistant, and Kaylee Shores and Jacolby Whitaker as athletic trainers.

Karl Berry was promoted from athletic program director to assistant director of athletics broadcast technology and marketing operations. William Crittenden was promoted from athletic program director-ticket operations and business development to associate director of athletic business development and revenue generation. Chelsea Groves was promoted from assistant program director-strategic communications to program director of social digital media. Jordan Rains was promoted from student compliance specialist to interim director for athletics academic services.

Regents approved the appointment of John Branch, associate director of the Physical Plant, to interim director. They also approved the appointment of Christopher Adams and Taylor Ingram as programmer analysts in information technology services. Joshua Renfro was promoted from coordinator in the registrar’s office to assistant registrar.

Regents appointed Gabrielle Czapla as photo/videographer in University Marketing Communications and approved the promotion of Kerry Whitsett from marketing communications specialist-editorial services to marketing communications coordinator-digital.

Al Greule was named associate professor emeritus of mass communications. Troy Davis was named professor emeritus of history, and Robert Szafran was named professor emeritus of anthropology, geography and sociology. Regents approved the retirement of Danny Gallant, former vice president of finance and administration, with 38 years of service to SFA.

The Stephen F. Austin State University Board of Regents approved a recommendation to move the dance program from the James I. Perkins College of Education to the College of Fine Arts. Dance will join the School of Theatre, and the name of the school will be changed to the School of Theatre and Dance.

“The faculty and students in the dance program asked for this move, with the belief that it will better reflect their artistry and discipline,” said Dr. Lorenzo Smith, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “The College of Fine Arts leadership and faculty share this belief and will welcome the program into the newly renovated and expanded Griffith Fine Arts Building, once it is complete.”

Two new aviation courses were approved by the board as part of the degree plan for the Bachelor of Science degree in aviation sciences, which gained approval in September by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. The courses, Commercial Flight I and Commercial Flight II, are offered through the Perkins College of Education’s School of Human Sciences.

Regents approved policy revisions and changes to the 2022 capital and higher education fund budget schedule. The board also approved grant awards and a Banner hardware and Oracle licensing contract to support SFA databases.

Regents approved a media buying contract with Love Advertising in Houston for a total not to exceed $250,000 in any one year, for up to five years.

Regents acknowledged receipt of a contract monitoring report, the annual audit report, the audit services report and the audit charter. They approved the minutes for meetings held in July, August and September.

Regents heard reports from SFA President Scott Gordon; Dr. Brian Uriegas, chair of the Faculty Senate; Megan Weatherly, chair of the Staff Council, and Lauren Roach, president of the Student Government Association.

Dr. I-Kuai Hung, Lacy H. Hunt Professor of geospatial sciences at Stephen F. Austin State University, was awarded the 2021 Carl Alwin Schenck Award from the Society of American Foresters during the virtual SAF National Convention held the first week of November.

The national award recognizes individuals who display a notable and sustained record of excellence in forestry education through outstanding service to the field and the development of dynamic, personal teaching methods.

“As my career developed, I discovered the most rewarding job I can possibly get — teaching,” Hung said. “Today, it is my students and my colleagues who keep me moving forward.”

Hung is one of four SFA forestry professors who have earned the prestigious award. Dr. David Kulhavy, Laurence C. Walker Distinguished Professor of forest entomology, received the award in 2010; Dr. Brian Oswald, Joe C. Denman Distinguished Professor of fire ecology, received the award in 2002; and Dr. Daniel Unger received the award in 2019.

“I would be surprised if there is another forestry program in the country that could ever claim to have four Schenck award winners on its active faculty,” said Dr. Hans Williams, dean of SFA’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture. “It’s hard to imagine a better recognition of the innovation and effectiveness of the teaching and learning provided by our faculty members.”

Carl Alwin Schenck, the award’s namesake, was a German-born and educated forester who founded the first forestry education program in the U.S. in 1898.

Story by Sarah Fuller

Stephen F. Austin State University launched the public phase of its $100 million fundraising campaign in conjunction with Homecoming activities on Friday and announced plans to rename the College of Fine Arts in honor of a longtime Nacogdoches resident who had a deep love of the community and the arts.

The new name, the Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts, was approved Monday by SFA’s Board of Regents and recognizes the longtime support of the Elliott family and a recent gift of $8 million pledged to support scholarships for fine arts students.

“With this gift, Bill Elliott is honoring his late wife, providing for our current students and investing in the future of SFA,” said Dr. Scott Gordon, SFA president. “We are grateful for the way the Elliott family has elevated SFA through their generosity.”

Bill Elliott graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a degree in music. He began his career in the electrical distribution industry working for his father. With his own ideas of how a distributorship should be run, along with $20,000 of his own money and an $80,000 loan, Elliott and Micky began their first electrical supply company in Nacogdoches in 1972.

Today Elliott Electric Supply has more than 165 store locations across nine states. It has been recognized as one of the largest electrical distributors in Electrical Wholesaling Magazine, with more than 2,100 employees – 200 of those working at its Nacogdoches location.

“There are many great opportunities to help SFA build on its record of excellence,” Elliott said. “But having a degree in music, I was blown away with the quality of the students, programs and instructors in the College of Fine Arts. The college not only develops professional performers, but offers East Texas residents an opportunity to enjoy cultural opportunities that rival more metropolitan areas.”

Dr. Gary Wurtz, interim dean of fine arts, said the gift is a “game changer” for the School of Music.

“This generous gift will generate substantial scholarship dollars that will allow us to recruit more high-quality students than ever before, placing us in the position to compete against the biggest and best schools in the state and region — if not nationally — for those students,” Wurtz said. “Furthermore, there is an elevated status and pride that comes with being a named college, and we are excited about becoming the Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts.”

Other endowments that have been funded by the Elliott family include the Micky Elliott Symphony Orchestra Scholarship, Micky Elliott Computer Science Scholarship, Micky Elliott Engineering Professorship, the Gary Wurtz Jazz Scholarship and the Gene Moore Professorship.

“Bill Elliott remains an inspiration for his dedication to the East Texas community, and to his business and industry,” Gordon said. “A gift of this magnitude is monumental for SFA and allows us to boldly dream for SFA’s second century.”

Regents approved the renaming during their regular quarterly meeting, which concluded today.

More than $79 million has already been raised in conjunction with the capital campaign, including 12 donations of $1 million or more. More than 8,600 first-time donors have participated in the effort.

For more information about SFA fine arts, visit sfasu.edu/finearts. More about the campaign is available at sfasu.edu/elevate.