Everything Nac

Representatives from Stephen F. Austin State University and LeTourneau University recently signed an articulation agreement ensuring a seamless transition for LETU kinesiology students to pursue a Master of Science in athletic training at SFA.

Under the new agreement, LETU students will have the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and a master’s degree in athletic training in approximately five years, instead of six. Students will complete their bachelor’s degree in three years at LETU and then transfer to SFA to complete their final two years. Coursework at SFA will “reverse transfer” back to LETU to complete the bachelor degree requirements in kinesiology, while also counting toward the student’s master’s degree in athletic training.

“The positive aspects of this idea kept it moving forward to fruition,” said Dr. Judy Abbott, dean of the James I. Perkins College of Education at SFA. “Collaboration in higher education is vital, and we look forward to the many opportunities this agreement will open for students.”

Dr. Larry Frazier, dean of LETU’s College of Education, Arts and Sciences, agreed the collaboration is beneficial.

“This agreement is good for LeTourneau and good for SFA,” Frazier said. “We are both committed to the higher education of East Texas. We have great students at LeTourneau and are excited to provide them with this opportunity to pursue a graduate degree through SFA. We hope this will be a model we can replicate.”

Dr. Linda Bobo, professor of kinesiology and health science at SFA, and Dr. Wayne Jacobs, professor of kinesiology at LETU, were the driving forces behind this agreement.

“I have known about the quality of SFA’s athletic training program for a number of years, but our students have not had the ability to pursue a master’s degree in this field,” Jacobs said. “Now that we’ve moved to graduate-level preparation for athletic trainers, this was the perfect time for us to begin this partnership. We are very thankful we will be able to offer this to our students.”

Bobo and Jacobs adjusted LETU’s curriculum to accommodate SFA’s requirements and ensure students experience a smooth transition into the graduate program.

SFA’s graduate athletic training program works on a cohort system and limits admission to keep class sizes small. The program is based on community service and offers students the ability to work in a range of diverse clinical sites, including the university, area high schools, orthopedic and surgical units, and others.

Students enrolled in the program also have the opportunity to earn three professional certifications before graduation, which include CPR instructor certification, Graston Technique in Soft Tissue Mobilization certification, and the National Academy of Sports Medicine’s Corrective Exercise Specialist certification. SFA’s program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s School of Human Sciences recently hosted its third annual Cooking Up Careers event where student teams from eight East Texas high schools competed in a cooking competition.

This year, students competed in a Market Basket Challenge where they were tasked with preparing two plates comprising a protein, starch and vegetable. High school students arrived at SFA without knowing the main ingredient they were required to cook with in the competition.

Teams of five students prepared a bone-in French pork roast. Several of the teams cut the meat into pork chops while others cubed the roast or cut it into strips.

One of the required two plates was judged on presentation and the other on taste. Both plates had to demonstrate consistency, correct portion sizes and creativity with ingredients, according to Todd Barrios, chef instructor at SFA.

“The Market Basket Challenge is a great opportunity for the visiting students to test their culinary knowledge and skills in a fun environment while also using our state-of-the-art kitchen. The event provided a day of sportsmanship and competition,” Barrios said.

Chefs Jack Bretzke, Daniel Conroy and Maurice Zeck served as competition judges. Bob Westbrook and Roger Lumley attended as representatives of the East Texas Restaurant Association.

Schools that participated include Athens, Chapel Hill, Hudson, Lindale, Marshall, Pine Tree, West Rusk and Union Grove.

“Each year this event gets more focused and better,” said Dr. Chay Runnels, event organizer and hospitality administration program coordinator. “We are pleased to partner with the Center for Teaching and Learning along with the East Texas Restaurant Association to bring top high school talent to SFA.”

Cooking Up Careers also introduced students to SFA’s hospitality administration program and culinary arts focus. SFA is the only four-year institution in Texas with this type of culinary program.

“I think the event was very successful. We were able to host eight high schools with hospitality or culinary arts programs on SFA’s campus to see our facilities, meet our faculty members and work in our lab space,” Barrios said. “We hope to see some of these students in our hospitality program at SFA soon.”

Areas of emphasis within SFA’s hospitality program include lodging, restaurant, travel and tourism, event planning, and culinary arts. For more information, visit http://www.sfasu.edu/hms/102.asp.

The Stone Fort will host a pop-up concert featuring the Stephen F. Austin State University Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble from 1 to 2 p.m. Friday, May 5, at the Stone Fort, located on the SFA campus.

The concert is the second in a series of pop-up events and part of the Stone Fort Museum’s Inside-Out project, an outreach program designed to pique interest in the museum’s exhibits and encourage students and community members to come inside.

“For decades, there’s been a myth circulating among SFA students that if they come inside the Stone Fort they will not graduate, which is entirely untrue,” Carolyn Spears, curator of the Stone Fort Museum, said. “Hosting the Inside-Out events is a way to attract members of the SFA and Nacogdoches communities to come to events outside the Stone Fort and then encourage them to step inside and continue to experience local and Texas history through the impressive exhibits.”

The Stone Fort’s current exhibit is “El Camino Real de los Tejas & Building Nacogdoches: 1716-2016.” The exhibit documents the history of the Camino Real and focuses on the people who lived and traveled the road.

Objects on loan for the exhibit include flintlocks, flint knives, cruciform stirrups, belt knives, and tools for traveling and carpentry from the private collections of Rick Still and George Avery, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and the SFA Anthropology Lab.

“Upstairs, we have a panel highlighting Music in the Borderlands that features common musical instruments, including a mandolin and part of a mouth harp recovered from the Mission Dolores de los Ais archeological site,” Spears said. “The Pop-Up on Friday will feature scanned sheet music from the period and an amberola, which is an early type of phonograph that used wax cylinders.”

The event will feature SFA’s Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble performing selections from Igor Stravinsky’s “The Firebird Suite” and Paul Hindemith’s “Symphonic Metamorphosis.” Additionally, “Canzona Prima,” “The Yellow Rose of Texas,” and “Desperado,” will be performed. Fitting for the occasion, the ensemble also will perform “Nine Flags of Nacogdoches,” written by Kelley Wittington of Nacogdoches. The ensemble is led by Dr. J.D. Salas, associate professor of music at SFA.

“When people think of a group of tubas playing together, thoughts of massed pachyderms may immediately spring to mind,” Salas said. “However, the euphonium, which is similar to a tuba but about half the size, has a higher and lighter sound and performs most of the melodies. Together, the two instruments create an ensemble that possesses remarkably sonorous timbre and a wide dynamic range.”

The majority of the ensemble will perform in front of the Stone Fort at ground level; however, 12 members of the ensemble will perform on the Stone Fort’s second-floor porch.

The concert is free and open to the public. For more information about the Stone Fort, its exhibits or the Inside-Out series, contact Spears at cspears@sfasu.edu.