Stephen F. Austin State University President Baker Pattillo surprised Steve McCarty, retired athletic director and current chair of the Board of Regents, at the board’s Tuesday meeting by awarding him a new title: athletic director emeritus.
“I think everybody here knows how much this university means to me,” McCarty said following the president’s announcement.
“It has been a major part of our life, for both me and my wife, Sara. I never expected this, Dr. Pattillo. I appreciate it more than you know. This is the highest honor of my life. Thank you very much.”
McCarty retired from SFA in 2005 after 21 years of service to the university, the last 15 as athletic director. He was appointed to the board by Gov. Rick Perry in 2009, becoming the first former staff member to ever serve the university in that capacity. He was elected chair in 2013 and was chosen earlier this year to lead the board for a second term.
A resident of Alto, McCarty also holds two degrees from SFA, which he earned in 1965 and 1970.
The board also approved numerous SFA faculty and staff changes during its quarterly meeting Tuesday.
The following faculty appointments were approved for the James I. Perkins College of Education: Yuleinys Castillo and Phoebe Okungu, assistant professors of human services; Chrissy Cross and Barbara Qualls, assistant professors of secondary education and educational leadership; Lauren Gonzales, assistant professor of elementary education; Frank Mullins, associate professor of human services; Heather Munro, clinical instructor of human services; Carla Murgia, professor and chair of kinesiology and health science; and Lydia Richardson, instructor of human services.
Appointments within the College of Fine Arts include: Joseph Turner, assistant professor of music; Jeffrey Brewer, assistant professor of art; and Tara Houston, assistant professor of theatre. The College of Liberal and Applied Arts appointed the following: Charles Gregory, instructor of government; Kara Lopez, assistant professor of social work; and Valerie Mahfood, assistant professor of government.
Other faculty appointments approved Tuesday include: Rajat Mishra, assistant professor of management, marketing and international business in the Nelson Rusche College of Business; Jared Barnes, assistant professor of agriculture, and Roger Masse, assistant professor of forestry, in the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture; Matthew Beauregard, associate professor of mathematics and statistics, and Matibur Zamadar, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, in the College of Sciences and Mathematics; and Johna Von Behrens, librarian I.
The Board of Regents approved staff appointments within the Department of Athletics, including: James Collins and James Haynes, assistant baseball coaches; and Todd Stutzman, athletic team operations coordinator.
Additional staff appointments include: Justin Glasscock, supervisor for the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture Broiler Research Center; Lana Comeaux, development officer II in the Office of Development; Sarah Kouliavtsev, coordinator of promotions and sponsorship in Campus Recreation; Stanley Riley II, security specialist in Information Technology Services; Mary Smith, assistant director of instructional technology; Megan Weatherly, instructional design specialist in the Office of Instructional Technology; Jani Francis-Okai, manager of residence life systems in the Department of Residence Life; and Jennifer Stringfield, assessment specialist in the Office of Institutional Assessment.
Regents approved the following changes of status within the Perkins College of Education: Stacy Hendricks, from assistant professor of secondary education to assistant professor and coordinator of the principal prep program; Lisa Mize, from associate dean of education to associate professor of human sciences; Jannah Nerren, from associate professor of elementary education to associate dean of education; Janet Tareilo, from associate professor of secondary education to associate dean of education; Miranda Terry, from assistant professor of kinesiology and health science to assistant professor and coordinator of health science program; and Leonard Thornton, from associate professor of kinesiology and health science to associate professor and coordinator of the graduate kinesiology program.
The following changes in status also were approved: Treba Marsh, from professor of accounting to professor of accounting with Temple Inland professorship in the Nelson Rusche College of Business; Tod Fish and Bradley Meyer, from visiting assistant professors of music to assistant professors of music in the College of Fine Arts; Maxwell Holmes, from admissions counselor to academic adviser in the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture.
Other changes of status at SFA include:
Financial Aid – Heather Rachele’ Garrett, from interim director of financial aid to director of financial aid;
Development – Dale Green, from director of alumni marketing and membership to development officer II;
Information Technology Services – Paul Davis, from director of information technology services to chief information officer;
Procurement and Property Services – Leah Gentry, from buyer to contracting specialist;
Student Affairs – James Maple, from spirit head coach to coordinator of spirit programs;
Telecommunications and Networking – Sandra Menscer, from network support specialist II to network support specialist III; and Steve Rasmussen, from network support specialist III to system network administrator; and
University Marketing Communications – Trey Cartwright, from marketing communications specialist to senior media producer.
In addition, Deborah Dufrene was named a professor emeritus within the Rusche College of Business, and Carla Murgia, professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Science, was granted tenure by the board.
The following retirements also were approved: Susan Barber, lecturer of elementary education in the Perkins College of Education; and James Cunningham, associate professor of mathematics and statistics in the College of Sciences and Mathematics.
SFA president Baker Pattillo, right, congratulates Board of Regents Chairman Steve McCarty for being named athletic director emeritus at Tuesday’s quarterly board meeting.
