Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Office of Research and Graduate Studies has announced the recipients of its annual Research and Creative Activity grants, which support initial research efforts by SFA faculty members and prepares them and their research for submission to national grant programs.

ORGS and the Division of Academic Affairs conduct a university-wide call for proposals, and the deadline for submissions is typically the end of October. The University Research Council conducts a blind peer review of all applications. Grant awardees are notified early in the spring semester, and projects are funded through the remainder of the fiscal year.

This year, ORGS received five applications, and the University Research Council selected four recipients. The total monies awarded equals nearly $35,215.

2021 Research and Creative Activity Grants:

Wesley Berg – School of Art, College of Fine Arts

Drawing Rock Art Symbols of the Greater Southwest

Berg’s Creative Activity project proposes to explore rock art locations in southern Utah and northern Arizona. The objective is to create drawing artworks while observing petroglyphic sites and ultimately merging prehistoric iconography with contemporary interpretations of landscape, form and color.

Dr. Flora Farago – School of Human Sciences, James I. Perkins College of Education

Attitudes about Gender in 7-10 year-old Children in Kenya

Farago’s study is to examine Kenyan children’s gender stereotypes, including perceptions about gender, discrimination, gender atypical peers, occupational aspirations and empowerment. The current study extends previous research. The project will lay the foundation for external funding via the Fulbright, Reed Foundation, and the Society for Research in Child Development.

Dr. Lindsay Porter – Department of Biology, College of Sciences and Mathematics

Characterizing the a-latroinsectotoxins of Brown and Black Widow Spiders and Assessing their Potential as Biopesticides

In Porter’s study, two putatively insect-specific toxins, a-latroinsectotoxins, from two local widow spider species will be fully sequenced and the encoded proteins recombinantly expressed. These toxins will be assayed to confirm their toxicity against insects, both for a crop pest and for a vector of human pathogens.

Dr. Dipak Singh – Department of Computer Science, College of Sciences and Mathematics

Artificial Intelligence Solutions to Improve Natural Disaster Resilience and Relief

Singh’s project focuses on studying the characteristics of fake news during natural disasters based on the fine-grained contextual user features, such as user profile history and behavior on social network, and the pattern in the propagation of such news over time using state-of-the-art artificial intelligence technologies.

Even as more and more Americans are getting a COVID vaccine, and pandemic protocols are beginning to loosen up a bit, safety remains at the forefront for Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre as students prepare to present Jane Martin’s “Talking With …” April 20 through 24 in Kennedy Auditorium on the SFA campus.

Martin’s “Talking With …” features idiosyncratic characters who amuse, move, frighten and always speak from the depths of their souls. They include a baton twirler, a fundamentalist snake handler, an ex-rodeo rider and a person whose greatest desire is to live in a McDonald’s.

“The show offers a great variety in both the monologues and the acting,” according to Jack Heifner, adjunct instructor, SFA’s playwright-in-residence and the play’s director.

“Talking With …” takes the place of a previously chosen play that required too much physical contact among actors, Heifner said. The show will be presented in person, and it will be livestreamed.

“‘Talking With …’ is a series of monologues that can be rehearsed and performed separately, without more than one cast member being onstage at the same time,” Heifner said. “I have always liked the show and thought it was the perfect show considering the distancing guidelines we are following for both the cast and the audiences.”

The actors and people involved in the production will wear masks except when they are onstage. They will not take the masks off until they are onstage and will put their masks back on before going backstage. They are distanced at least 10 feet from the audience when they are performing.

“Every effort is being made to make the rehearsals and performances safe for everyone involved,” Heifner said.

Monologues can be difficult for actors, and presenting an entire evening of them requires variety in both the presentation and the performances, Heifner said.

“Taking the audience on a journey through the storytelling in the monologues will be a challenge for the student actors,” Heifner said. “Anyone who is interested in good writing and good acting should see ‘Talking With …,’ and those who do will be delighted in seeing the actors in such a challenging piece. The monologues offer rich characters and interesting stories about their lives.”

The author uses a pseudonym, “and no one knows who Jane Martin is,” Heifner said. “They have been active from the early 1980s until the present, but their identity is not known.” Martin first came to national attention for “Talking With …” in Louisville’s 1982 Humana Festival of New American Plays. Since its New York premiere at Manhattan Theatre Club in 1982, “Talking With …” has been performed around the world, winning the Best Foreign Play of the Year Award in Germany from Theatre Heute magazine.

Patrons who attend the show in person will be required to wear face coverings and socially distance themselves from other audience members not in their immediate group. Seating is limited.

General ticket prices are: adult, $15; senior (62+), $10; non-SFA student, $10; SFA faculty/staff, $7.50; youth, $7.50; SFA student, $5; virtual access, $15. Live virtual access is available for all performances. Purchase tickets/access at boxoffice.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407. For questions about the play, contact the School of Theatre at (936) 468-4003. “Talking with …” is recommended for mature audiences.

The Nacogdoches County Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon cutting celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Music Preparatory Division at Stephen F. Austin State University at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 15, at the Music Prep House, 3028 Raguet St.

In celebration of the milestone anniversary, Music Prep will host an outdoor music festival on May 1, also at the Prep House, and plans are underway for the creation of the Shirley Watterston Piano Lab. The ribbon cutting will be livestreamed on the Chamber of Commerce Facebook Page.

The Watterston Piano Lab, which will be housed in a renovated garage area at the Prep House, will provide space for the SFA Music Prep to deliver affordable group piano instruction to members of the Nacogdoches and East Texas community. Classes will be offered for students of all ages (retirees, adults, teenagers, elementary) and skill levels. In addition to outreach potential, the piano lab program will also provide music majors internship opportunities to gain valuable teaching experiences in conjunction with their piano pedagogy classes.

“These supervised teaching opportunities fit the university’s strategic plan by being a recruiting tool for college music majors seeking these types of transformative experiences as part of their academic and practical studies at SFA,” said Alba Madrid, director of SFA Music Preparatory Division and program instructor.

Additionally, the ribbon cutting will call attention to the all-day outdoor music festival on Saturday, May 1, that will feature the talents of Music Prep’s outstanding student musicians and give local merchants the opportunity to showcase their businesses while showing support for the School of Music’s outreach program, according to Madrid.

“This family-friendly outdoor music festival is the perfect way to end our school year, and it is a fitting tribute to 40 years of making music,” Madrid said. “This music festival will be a socially distanced event allowing music lovers to enjoy exceptional music, exhibition booths, food vendors and the great outdoors.”

The festival is from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.. For more information, contact Madrid at (936) 468-1291 or musicprep@sfasu.edu. For more information about Music Prep, visit sfamusicprep.com.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Office of Multicultural Affairs will host its final Brave Space Series of the semester at 4 p.m. Monday, April 12.

The program, titled “Be the Change You Want to See,” will educate attendees about how to make a paradigm shift in themselves and the world around them.

“The goal of this program is to encourage attendees to shift things in their own lives and then share those changes with the world in order to create a better society,” said DaQuan Allen, OMA student ambassador.

Allen also said he plans to discuss issues occurring across the world that he believes society needs to better address.

The program will be held in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Multimedia Room; however, in-person attendance is limited, so participants also can join via Zoom. To request accommodations, such as captioning, or to register, visit sfasu.edu/oma.

For more information, contact the OMA at oma@sfasu.edu or (936) 468-1073.

By Emily Brown, marketing communications specialist for Stephen F. Austin State University.

Registration is now open for Stephen F. Austin State University’s Conservation Careers Camp hosted by the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture.

The camp, held June 20 to 24, is open to students age 14 to 17 who are interested in exploring career opportunities in natural resource management through engaging, hands-on experiences led by SFA professors and industry professionals.

“The vision of the Conservation Careers Camp is to have fun while connecting high school students to the forest and natural world,” said Chanelle Svehla, academic advisor in SFA’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture. “Through hands-on learning programs, campers will gain knowledge about environmental stewardship, land ethics and forest health.”

Camp activities will focus on air and water quality monitoring, unmanned aerial vehicle operation, timber cruising, wildlife identification and management techniques, and more. Field trips also will introduce campers to surrounding national forests, as well as properties managed by SFA.

“Our camp is a unique opportunity for students to fully immerse themselves in the diverse field of natural resource management and experience what it is like to be a student within our college,” said Dr. Hans Williams, dean of the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture.

The cost of the camp, including housing, field trips and dining, is $375. Campers who register prior to April 20 will receive a $100 scholarship toward registration. The registration deadline is May 20.

Registration information and required forms can be found at www.sfasu.edu/cccamp. For more information, contact Svehla at Chanelle.Svehla@sfasu.edu or (936) 468-2351.