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The Society of American Foresters named Stephen F. Austin State University senior Kathryn Christensen as a 2019 Diversity Scholar and recognized the SFA student chapter of the SAF as one of the top three student chapters in the nation during the organization’s national conference held last month in Louisville, Kentucky.

The SAF Diversity Scholar Program is designed to promote leadership and create community within the SAF by encouraging the involvement of a variety of people in the profession. As the 2019 Diversity Scholar, Christensen participated in the organization’s Diversity and Inclusion Working Group and was paired with a mentor who works in the field of natural resources.

Christensen, a forestry major, said she advocates for expanding access to outdoor recreation in marginalized communities.

“My love for the outdoors came from my mother’s amazingly creative ways to get us in touch with nature on a budget,” Christensen said. “My past experiences of feeling left out because of the inability to afford camps, cruises and more luxurious ways of viewing nature has only fueled my passion for giving opportunities to those who find outdoor recreation unattainable.”

Christensen serves as the president of the student chapter of the SAF, and along with other organization members, she was instrumental in the SFA chapter being recognized on a national stage for its accomplishments in service, involvement with other natural resource organizations and building community relationships.

To learn more about this and other SFA student organizations, visit atcofa.sfasu.edu.

Story by Sarah Fuller, outreach coordinator for Stephen F. Austin State University’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture. Contact information: (936) 468-1185 or fullersa@sfasu.edu.

Eugene Mitchell Weatherly, a 1970 graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University, will offer the commencement address during the university’s graduation ceremonies Friday, Dec. 13, and Saturday, Dec. 14.

A Nacogdoches County native, Weatherly was a member of the SFA Lumberjack Cadet Battalion and graduated as a distinguished military graduate from SFA’s historic first commissioning class of 1970.

Upon being commissioned as an infantry officer, Weatherly received flight commander training and became a helicopter pilot. Serving one year in Vietnam in 1971, he was assigned to an assault helicopter company in Can Tho, Vietnam, and flew missions in the Mekong River Delta region of Vietnam and Cambodia. He was on active duty in the Army for a total of three years — one in various military schools, one year in Vietnam and one year as a member of the 1st Calvary Division at Fort Hood.

Following his military service, Weatherly joined Pier 1 Imports and became an executive vice president for the company, overseeing operations of all 1,200 Pier 1 Import stores in the U.S. and Canada, which employed more than 20,000 employees.

Weatherly retired in 2007 and currently resides in Kerrville. He was inducted into the U.S. Army Cadet Command Reserve Officer Training Hall of Fame, which recognizes overall excellence and accomplishment in leadership, at Fort Knox, Kentucky, in June 2016.

According to Weatherly, while 600,000 cadets have been commissioned through ROTC in the past 100 years, only 323 have been chosen for the Hall of Fame – a Supreme Court justice, a Medal of Honor recipient, hundreds of distinguished Army generals and a few business leaders.

“SFA gave me a view of the world and what could be if I applied myself,” Weatherly said. “My SFA education was the foundation of the success I achieved. The basic economic principles I learned in my economic major combined with the leadership training I received from ROTC set the stage for my military and business success.”

Candidates from the James I. Perkins College of Education will participate in a 6 p.m. ceremony on Friday, Dec. 13. On Saturday, Dec. 14, candidates from the Rusche College of Business and the College of Liberal and Applied Arts will participate in a 9:30 a.m. ceremony, and candidates from the College of Fine Arts, the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, and the College of Sciences and Mathematics will participate in a 2 p.m. ceremony.

Degrees to be awarded include 857 bachelor’s and 156 master’s degrees. Approximately 239 students will graduate with honors, including 92 cum laude, 68 magna cum laude and 73 summa cum laude. Forty-nine will graduate with the university scholar designation.

To view the ceremony online, visit facebook.com/sfasu.

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

Looking for a memorable Christmas gift for that someone special? Tickets to hear gospel sensations The Isaacs in concert on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus might be the most appreciated present you’ll give this year.

The College of Fine Arts at SFA will present The Isaacs in a special Encore Event concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 24, in W.M. Turner Auditorium. The concert is sponsored in part by BancorpSouth.

The multi-Dove Award-winning and two-time (2017 and ’18) Grammy-nominated family of gospel singers, The Isaacs have an inspirational style that blends tight harmonies with contemporary acoustic instrumentation to produce a sound that appeals to audiences all over the world.

“Their unique mix of southern gospel and other sounds is heard regularly at the Grand Ole Opry and at Carnegie Hall, CMA Fan Fest and recently on ABC-TV’s CMA Country Christmas with superstar Reba McIntyre,” said Scott Shattuck, associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and director of the University Series and Encore Events.

The Isaacs began singing 35 years ago and include mother Lily Isaacs and siblings Ben Isaacs, Sonya Isaacs Yeary and Rebecca Isaacs Bowman. Playing their own acoustic instruments and joined by other band members, The Isaacs’ distinctive style has been influenced by many genres of music including rhythm and blues, bluegrass and folk, as well as country, contemporary, acoustic and southern gospel.

Encore Event tickets are: adult $45/36/27; senior $36/29/21; youth $18/14/11; SFA student $3. All seating is reserved. Pricing is based on chosen section (A/B/C). Discounts are also available for SFA faculty and staff members.

For more information, visit finearts.sfasu.edu, stop by the Box Office in Room 211 of the Griffith Fine Arts Building, or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.