Everything Nac

The Stephen F. Austin State University Rusche College of Business is offering an entrepreneurship major beginning this semester. In response to high demand and the growing need to prepare students with versatile skills that are transferable across many industries, the goal of the program is to equip students with learning tools they can use during times of economic success or in times of uncertainty.

While the entrepreneurship major is a new program, a minor in entrepreneurship has been available and is offered to all SFA students. Dr. Matthew Lindsey, chair of the marketing and management department, believes the entrepreneurship major will be an excellent opportunity for students who have been seeking that degree, while the existing entrepreneurship minor will appeal to a variety of academic disciplines.

“For the past several years, students interested in management and marketing have inquired about two subjects, sports business and entrepreneurship,” Lindsey said. “We are looking forward to fulfilling that demand. I also think the minor is a valuable asset for non-business students across campus who are studying something they love, like music, and want to incorporate that passion into a business. It will equip them with the ability to think through the fundamental business elements needed to produce a viable venture.”

Two new faculty members were hired to help establish the entrepreneurship program: Dr. Raymond Jones, who began in fall 2019, holds a Ph.D. in management with an emphasis on strategy and entrepreneurship; and Dr. Brian Nagy, who earned his Ph.D. in management strategy. He started this semester.

Jones has already taken an active role in the local business community by serving on several panel discussions with the Nacogdoches Economic Development Corporation. He is utilizing those connections to help establish relationships between the university and local businesses.

“The intention of the entrepreneurship program is two-fold: It will prepare our students with a strong skill-set for life after college while serving as a resource for local businesses and start-ups in the community,” Jones said. “Collaboration is important. We are also looking forward to identifying sponsorship opportunities to allow for entrepreneurial competitions on campus.”

Lindsey is optimistic about the program and believes it will be an asset to many students.

“We have a thriving sports business program that was just recently established, and we are excited to be able to launch and grow the entrepreneurship program as well,” he said.

For more information about the Rusche College of Business entrepreneurship minor, contact Dr. Mathew Lindsey at lindseymd@sfasu.edu or (936) 468-1858.

By Richard Massey, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University

In celebration of the passage of the 19th Amendment, the bells of Griffith Fine Arts Building on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus will ring 19 times shortly after noon on Wednesday, Aug. 26, to commemorate the U.S. Constitution article that guaranteed women the right to vote.

The 19th Amendment states the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. It was passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, ratified on Aug. 18 then certified on Aug. 26 of 1920, formally adding it to the U.S. Constitution and providing suffrage to all citizens.

Starting in fall 2018, a group of local interested people – Nineteenth Amendment Celebration, or NAC – began meeting to plan events for 2020 to commemorate the passage of the amendment, according to Dr. Dana Cooper, professor of history at SFA. The onset of COVID-19 changed those plans.

“The Nineteenth Amendment Celebration group had such good intentions for 2020,” Cooper said. Among the events were readings, symposiums, exhibitions, living histories and more.

According to Cooper, the fight for the right to vote was a long struggle that officially began in 1848 with the Seneca Falls convention, which was attended by some 300 men and women. During the conference, Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote the Declaration of Sentiments, which outlined the rationale for women’s suffrage and was based upon the Declaration of Independence. Stanton’s document was signed by 100 people, including 68 women and 32 men.

“This is typically considered the formal beginning of the fight for suffrage in the United States,” Cooper said.

Numerous battles ensued in the courts and at the state level, and many women attained suffrage in specific states before the amendment was ratified at the federal level. Texas voted to ratify the 19th Amendment on June 28, 1919, making it the first southern state to do so.

“As one of the original events planned by NAC to commemorate this moment in history, the ringing of the bells on Aug. 26 will honor the long fight – by so many and for so long,” Cooper said. “Different people of different backgrounds, perspectives and races fought for decades to provide equality at the polls and the opportunity to partake in democracy, a process that is arguably more important than ever.”

Plans are underway to move some of the planned commemoration events to Zoom so that the celebration can continue on campus and within the community, regardless of the restrictions imposed by social distancing, according to Dr. Linda Levitt, professor of communication studies at SFA.

“We want to find ways to continue our celebration despite the need to change our context,” she said.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Sound Recording Technology program has caught the eye of Audinate, the global leader of professional digital audio networking, for SRT’s cutting-edge use of Audinate’s Dante platform.

Audinate showcased SFA’s use of Dante in a recent industry article touting the platform’s innovative capabilities. The article has been picked up and distributed by multiple media outlets and read by thousands of industry professionals.

SRT director James Adams, assistant professor in SFA’s School of Music and director of the SRT program, has been integrating Audinate’s Dante across multiple studios and stages on the SFA campus for the past two years. Recruited out of Los Angeles to come to SFA in 2016, Adams said he reconnected in 2018 with West Coast studios he knew there, and that’s when the conversion began.

“I was looking for a high-quality and cost-effective replacement to a piece of audio equipment in our studio,” Adams said. “Through my research and discussions with colleagues in the industry, I became aware of a product that satisfied my then-immediate needs while offering modular expansion abilities for the future: Focusrite Red Net equipment (a Dante enable product). That is how it all began. The Red Net products satisfied our needs at the time and opened up a world of possibilities that we were not aware of. Fast forward to today, and we are continuing to discover new, innovative ways to deliver instruction, operate productions and record music.”

The Audinate article defined Dante as “the de facto standard for digital audio networking, and distributes hundreds of uncompressed, multi-channel digital audio via standard Ethernet networks, with near-zero latency and perfect synchronization.” Dante allows audio, control and all other data to coexist effectively on the same network.

During the campus integration of Dante, Adams not only wanted to enhance university technology, he also wanted to heighten instructional offerings at SFA, a goal that was initially achieved through a large-scale test with one of the university’s major jazz productions.

“The traditional workflow for the performance was your standard front-of-house endeavor,” Adams was quoted in the Audinate article. “It worked, but it wasn’t flexible, and it wouldn’t allow us to get additional technologies or students involved.” By converting to a Dante-backed audio-over-IP system, Adams was able to significantly alter the workflow so multiple students were actively engaging with the production – allowing for more hands-on educational components and a more robust digital production, the article explained.

In addition to the publicity being a feather in SRT’s cap, the article is proving to be a great recruiting tool, said Adams, who has recently become a Dante Certification Instructor. Beginning in the spring, SRT will incorporate Dante certification into the curriculum and will begin certifying students. Knowing how to incorporate Dante capabilities into studios will give SFA SRT graduates an edge in the job market, Adams added.

“Students already learn Dante to operate our studio, and now we will be able to get them formal certifications,” Adams said. “With this, students’ employment qualifications in our industry are further elevated. I hope that they can see our level of dedication to overcoming traditional technological barriers to deliver an elevated educational experience.”

Student response to Dante has been enthusiastic, according to Adams.

“They think it is magic, and to be honest, it is,” he said. “Proper operation of the technology requires specialized training. Once students make it over the initial phase of intimidation – there are a lot of buttons and it can be overwhelming when first wrapping your head around it – they all have the ‘Ah Ha!’ moment.”

The Audinate article further demonstrates to prospective employers that SFA’s SRT program is at the forefront of recording arts technology and education.

“Knowledge of networked audio is growing in demand among employers in the music and production industries,” Adams said. “If potential employers read this article, they will learn that our students are gaining very advanced, in-depth experience with Dante operations and music production.”

“This technology is being adopted throughout the music industry because of its cost efficiency, reliability, and flexible, ease of use,” he added. “Our students are being trained in the operations of Dante and similar technologies which further expands their marketable skills.”

For more information about the Sound Recording Technology program at SFA, contact Adams at adamsjf@sfasu.edu.