The cover of Stephen F. Austin State University’s 2023 Stone Fort yearbook features debossed numerals and gold foil lettering. A limited number of this special centennial volume is available for purchase by SFA alumni, supporters and community members this fall. Contact the SFA Department of Student Publications for more information.
The full-color, hardback edition costs $67 and features 312 pages of SFA images and stories pertaining to the past year and all 99 years that came before it. Proceeds from annual yearbook sales are used to help cover the cost of printing and pay for SFA student writers, photographers and editors who work for the award-winning publication.
“The yearbook staff set a goal in summer 2022 to elevate the centennial edition in all aspects, from making it full color to delving deep into the institution’s history for content and perspective to designing a high-quality cover that would look nice on any Lumberjack’s coffee table for years to come,” said Laney Wise, current Stone Fort editor-in-chief.
“Working on the centennial yearbook was such an honor,” said Wise, a junior graphic design major from Keller. “I feel incredibly lucky to have been a part of such an important piece of SFA history, and I had an amazing time getting to talk to so many of my peers to help tell the story of SFA.”
Many historical photos and references from past SFA yearbooks made their way into the special centennial edition, said SFA Department of Student Publications Coordinator and Stone Fort advisor Rachel Clark.
“The students and staff have had a lot of fun during the last year reviewing past yearbooks and seeing how the campus has changed over the decades, not to mention students’ outfits and hairstyles,” she said. “But just as remarkable to us was the realization that a lot of aspects of student life at SFA, in particular Lumberjacks’ school spirit and reverence for tradition, haven’t really changed that much in the past 100 years.”
The first volume of the Stone Fort yearbook was produced in 1924 and chronicled the first academic year of SFA’s history. Except for two years during the Great Depression, the yearbook has recorded each intervening year of the unique SFA student experience.
Just a handful of Texas universities and only four public institutions in the state are still producing a traditional, printed yearbook each year, according to Amy Roquemore, director of student publications and divisional media at SFA. The Stone Fort routinely wins writing, photography and design awards from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association and earned two national awards from the College Media Association in 2022.
“Changes in the student staffs’ interests and preferences, as well as publication design trends and cultural and societal institutions, have resulted in each Stone Fort yearbook’s uniqueness, yet the volumes share a throughline of Lumberjack history, spirit and tradition,” Roquemore said. “For the centennial edition, the staff doubled down on SFA history, and the students did an outstanding job of encapsulating highlights of the 2022-23 academic year while also paying homage to the history and alumni behind a lot of the traditions and activities Lumberjacks take part in today.”
Roquemore said the professional and student staffs decided early on in the centennial yearbook’s production to make the special edition available to alumni and community members in addition to current student yearbook subscribers.
“We knew this would be a one-of-a-kind piece of SFA history that Lumberjacks would want to have, whether they attended classes last week or many decades ago,” she added.
To purchase a centennial Stone Fort yearbook, call the SFA Department of Student Publications at (936) 468-4703, email clarkr1@sfasu.edu or stop by the office located in Room 2.308 of the Baker Pattillo Student Center.
Stone Fort yearbook
Preserving one of the oldest traditions at SFA, Stone Fort staff members strive to create a yearbook that accurately captures the essence of the university and what it means to be a Lumberjack. Through compelling storytelling, captivating images and imaginative design, the staff works to foster a sense of community while developing talented students who share passions for journalism and art. Each volume is intended to portray the SFA student experience with accuracy and integrity, serving as one of the university’s primary sources of recorded history.
ABOUT STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIVERSITY
Stephen F. Austin State University, the newest member of The University of Texas System, began a century ago as a teachers’ college in Texas’ oldest town, Nacogdoches. Today, it has grown into a regional institution comprising six colleges — business, education, fine arts, forestry and agriculture, liberal and applied arts, and sciences and mathematics. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, SFA enrolls approximately 11,000 students while providing the academic breadth of a state university with the personalized attention of a private school. The main campus encompasses 421 acres that include 36 academic facilities, nine residence halls, and 68 acres of recreational trails that wind through its six gardens. The university offers more than 80 bachelor’s degrees, more than 40 master’s degrees and four doctoral degrees covering more than 120 areas of study. Learn more at sfasu.edu.
