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Online learning platform Study.com has ranked Stephen F. Austin State University among its 2021 Best Bachelor’s Degrees in Creative Writing.

Over 40 million visitors per month use Study.com to research potential schools, degrees and careers. The Best Bachelor’s Degrees list helps users learn about universities and top programs like those offered at SFA.

Study.com compiled the list by considering hundreds of universities across the country and selected SFA based on academic and career resources, the quality of education, faculty, and more.

SFA’s creative writing program, housed in the Department of English and Creative Writing, is the only creative writing program in Texas and one of just a handful in the nation to offer a Bachelor of Fine Arts.

“We create a positive environment where students have an opportunity to write in a variety of genres,” said Dr. John McDermott, program coordinator and professor of creative writing at SFA. “We strive to work individually with students, especially during the two semesters of their senior thesis. We have a small, vibrant literary community where the students and professors get to know each other.”

Students within the program take courses in poetry, fiction and nonfiction before completing their thesis during their senior year. Additionally, students complete a literature minor to help ensure they have achieved a well-rounded library of knowledge.

SFA offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts in creative writing, and both an undergraduate and graduate minor in creative writing.

For more information on the program, visit sfasu.edu/English.

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

Following more than a year hiatus in competing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Stephen F. Austin State University timbersports team, the Sylvans, made a triumphant return during the Louisiana Forest Festival, winning the collegiate portion of the event’s timbersports competition.

“Our team did a great job representing SFA and our programs,” said Dr. Jeremy Stovall, professor of forestry and Sylvans faculty advisor.

The team took first-place in the Jack and Jill crosscut, ax throwing, log chopping and single buck crosscutting events. The team earned second place in men’s crosscut, women’s bowsawing and men’s bowsawing.

Established in 1979, the Louisiana Forest Festival takes place in Winnfield, Louisiana, and celebrates the timber industry’s contributions to the state.

Stephen F. Austin State University will hold seven commencement ceremonies for May 2021 to accommodate measures aimed at ensuring attendee safety.

May and August 2020 graduates are invited to participate in the May ceremony, and seating in the Johnson Coliseum will be adjusted to help ensure physical distancing. All attendees will be required to wear face masks.

Graduates and their guests must present tickets to enter Johnson Coliseum. Tickets are free but will help university officials ensure the venue is not overcrowded and that adequate spacing can be maintained during the event. Each graduate will be allotted one ticket for themselves and a maximum of six guest tickets for their respective ceremony.

Candidates from the following schools and departments will participate in a ceremony on Friday, May 7:

1 p.m., the Department of Human Services and Educational Leadership and the 2020 May and August graduates, with Dr. Nina Ellis-Hervey as speaker
4 p.m., the Department of Education Studies and the College of Forestry and Agriculture, with Dr. Steve Bullard as speaker
7 p.m., the School of Human Sciences and the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science, with Dr. Rachel Jumper as speaker

Candidates from the following schools and departments will participate in a ceremony on Saturday, May 8:

9 a.m., the College of Business, with Mike Parham as speaker
noon, the College of Fine Arts and the School of Social Work, with Dr. Sam Copeland as speaker
3 p.m., the College of Liberal and Applied Arts, with Dr. Troy Davis as speaker
6 p.m., the College of Sciences and Mathematics, with Dr. Roy Joe Harris as speaker

Degrees to be awarded include 1,286 bachelor’s, 295 master’s and four doctoral degrees. Approximately 500 students will graduate with honors, including 168 cum laude, 140 magna cum laude and 187 summa cum laude. Sixty-five will graduate with the university scholar designation.

All ceremonies will be livestreamed on the SFA Facebook page, facebook.com/sfasu. For more information, visit sfasu.edu/commencement.

By Joanna Armstrong, marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.

Plans are being finalized for the May 1 outdoor music festival hosted by the Music Preparatory Division of the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music in celebration of Music Prep’s 40th anniversary.

The all-day event will take place at the Music Prep House, located at 3028 Raguet St., and 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 Alba Madrid, Music Prep director and program instructor.

“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 designed to celebrate the accomplishments of current Music Prep students by sharing their performances with the community. The program will begin with the youngest artists in Kindermusik and Suzuki programs. Students taking private lessons will be featured in solo performances in various instruments. The festival will include a compelling performance by the Piney Woods Youth Symphony Orchestra.

A number of local merchants have signed on as sponsors for the event, including Lisle Violin Shop and Regents Academy, allegro sponsors; Rex Perry Autoplex, Etech, University Rental, Elliott Electric, New Camerata Opera, Nacogdoches Pediatric Dentistry and Gobel School of Dance, moderato sponsors; and Morning Glory Yoga, Commercial Bank of Texas, McWilliams & Son, Rodan + Fields and Nest Spa, adagio sponsors. Additionally, several merchants will have booth spaces to showcase their businesses. Local food trucks will be on site.

A new project also being celebrated is the creation of the Shirley Watterston Piano Lab at the Prep House. With the lab, named in honor of the Music Prep co-founder, the Preparatory Division will be able 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.

The festival is from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 1. For more information about the festival or the programs offered by Music Prep, contact Madrid at (936) 468-1291 or musicprep@sfasu.edu, or visit sfamusicprep.com.