Everything Nac

Dr. Le’Ann Solmonson, Stephen F. Austin State University professor in the counselor education program and chair-elect of the Faculty Senate, has been named the American Association of University Women’s Woman of the Year for higher education.

“I love what I do and feel a huge responsibility for shaping the future of my profession,” Solmonson said. “Counselor education allows me to be a part of watching students grow personally as well as professionally. It is a very rewarding career.”

Founded in 1881, the American Association of University Women is the nation’s leading voice promoting equity and education for women.

Solmonson is active in her profession at the state level and is a former president of the Texas Counseling Association and will chair the TCA Advisory Council of Past Presidents next year. She currently serves as the president-elect for the Texas Counselors for Social Justice. Additionally, she served on the board of Court Appointed Special Advocates of Deep East Texas for six years, three of those as president.

Solmonson also is a member of the First United Methodist Church where she sings on the Praise Team, assists with adult Bible study class and prepares meals. She is on the board of the Methodist Children’s Home in Waco and also is a candidate in the current Nacogdoches Independent School District Board of Trustees election.

Additionally, she was appointed as a trustee to the Association for Child and Adolescent Counseling, which is a division of the American Counseling Association that promotes greater awareness, advocacy and understanding of children and adolescents.

“Because I specialize in working with children and adolescents, this is a special place for me to serve. I have a heart and a passion for working with children and have devoted my career to this population,” Solmonson said. “The national organization brings together mental health professionals who are invested in this population and provides resources and continuing education opportunities. Our goal is to support and promote research related to determining best practices for working with children and adolescents.”

As a trustee, Solmonson will be part of the team providing organization oversight and governance. In addition, she will help coordinate continuing education opportunities and social gatherings at the American Counseling Association Conference.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture and SFA Gardens will host an Earth Day celebration from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 1 at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center located at 2900 Raguet St.

The event, held in conjunction with the SFA Gardens Mast Arboretum spring plant sale, is a family-friendly gathering that aims to engage the community in the outdoors and sustainable living.

“There’s no better way to celebrate Earth Day than with your community,” said Jocelyn Moore, assistant environmental education coordinator at SFA Gardens.

The celebration will feature activities and booths related to seed planting, upcycled art, tree identification, music and more. A representative from SFA’s Campus Recreation also will hold a beginner’s yoga course from 11 a.m. to noon.

“The event aims to help us learn ways to respect our Earth as we connect with folks working to make a positive change in Nacogdoches,” Moore said.

Attendees are encouraged to bring a picnic to the Earth Day celebration and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Pineywoods Native Plant Center. Snacks will be available at select booths.

To help reduce the event’s environmental footprint, visitors are encouraged to bring reusable water bottles.

For more information, contact Jocelyn Moore at moorejv@sfasu.edu or (936) 468-1863.

Stephen F. Austin State University interior design students recently put their skills to the test in a unique way: constructing furniture from cardboard.

Dr. Mitzi Perritt, professor in SFA’s School of Human Sciences, tasked students in her interior materials and cabinetry course with building 3-D structures from cardboard and recycled materials. Students worked individually and in groups to create a variety of sustainable furniture designs, including dressers, end tables, bookshelves and more.

Rebecca Bumpurs, an interior design sophomore from Port Lavaca, created an olive green, leaf-shaped bookshelf using cardboard, paint, spackling and glue.

“I chose this leaf design to represent sustainability, and the materials show how this piece can go back to nature,” Bumpurs said.

While working on their creations, students learned how to apply joinery and cabinetry construction knowledge to a 3-D form, investigated corrugated cardboard as a furniture construction material and practiced cradle-to-cradle sustainability by reusing discarded materials to design upgraded products.

Dr. Karen Embry Jenlink, professor of doctoral studies in educational leadership at Stephen F. Austin State University, recently accepted the gavel and will serve as national president of the Association of Teacher Educators during the 97th annual meeting held in Orlando, Florida.

“With SFA’s long-standing history as a teachers college, it is an honor to represent SFA as the 98th president of ATE,” Embry Jenlink said.

The ATE was founded in 1920 as a professional member organization devoted to the improvement of educator preparation for school-based and university teacher educators. Its members represent more than 700 colleges and universities, 500 major school systems, and a majority of state departments of education within 41 active state and regional affiliated units.

During the annual meeting, Embry Jenlink provided the closing keynote address highlighting the conference theme she selected — Re-Imagining Educator Preparation within a Democracy: Teacher Educators as Public Intellectuals. She said she is passionate about the theme, which will stimulate dialogue and scholarly inquiry across two national conferences and be used to frame policy-making and advocacy with stakeholders in educator preparation.

“Every child who is educated in the United States must be prepared to participate in democracy. These responsibilities include critical-thinking skills, the ability to debate and deliberate, a willingness to compromise, and the ability to actively participate in one’s community and civic life,” Embry Jenlink said. “As teacher educators, we must take up the mantle of social, political and moral responsibility to reclaim educator preparation for the common good. A critical responsibility of ours is to prepare a well-educated citizenry, which is able to sustain our democracy.”

In the coming year, Embry Jenlink will provide keynote addresses during several regional and state conferences. She also will preside over the 2017 summer conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the 98th annual meeting in Las Vegas. An appointed member of the World Federation of Teacher Educators Board of Directors, she also will attend the ATE/Europe meeting in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Embry Jenlink joined SFA in 1998 as an associate professor in the James I. Perkins College of Education. She served as a site professor on the campuses of Nettie Marshall Elementary and Thomas J. Rusk Middle School, and as coordinator of master’s programs in secondary education.

In 2003, she was promoted to professor and joined the faculty within the doctoral program in SFA’s Department of Secondary Education and Educational Leadership. At SFA, she has directed or served as committee member on more than 60 doctoral dissertations and theses.

She has also served on numerous university committees, including Academic Affairs, Graduate Council, College Council and as chair of the Faculty Senate from 2014-16. Locally, Embry Jenlink also serves as a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and as a commissioner on the Nacogdoches Housing Authority Board.