Everything Nac

A world premiere of “Meet Your Maker” by David Reeves will be a highlight of a concert by the Stephen F. Austin State University Wind Symphony when the student ensemble performs at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 28, in W.M. Turner Auditorium on the SFA campus.

Directed by Dr. Dan Haddad, associate director of bands at SFA, the Wind Symphony will also perform standard pieces in the wind band repertoire in addition to newer works.

Reeves’ “Meet Your Maker” includes the following sections: Troublemaker, Haymaker, Dealmaker and Peacemaker. The SFA Wind Symphony led the consortium for this new work.

“This piece is in no way a percussion concerto, but I’m very interested in getting the percussion section’s sound represented in the clearest, best possible light,” the composer said of the work. “This can be hard to achieve, whether due to a ‘boomy’ concert hall, compositional choices regarding the range or instrumentation, tuning, etc. This piece physically integrates the percussion section with the wind section. As the piece progresses, the percussionists travel through the wind arcs, stopping at small percussion ‘stations’ along the way.”

Reeves has written extensively for percussion and has also composed works for orchestra, wind band, chamber ensembles, instrumental solos and voice. His works draw from jazz, funk, world music, minimalism and electronica. He has also collaborated with contemporary choreographers as a composer and percussionist.

His works have been frequently performed throughout the U.S. and have also been performed in the U.K., Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Russia. His works have been awarded or recognized by Percussive Arts Society, World Percussion Group, Aries Composer Festival, International Percussion Institute, Great Plains Marimba Festival and more. He is a Pearl/Adams and Innovative Percussion artist and has worked as an arranger for more than 30 years nationally and internationally.

The Wind Symphony will also perform a newer piece, “Febris Ver” (Spring Fever) by Nancy Galbraith, along with one of the foundations of wind band repertoire, Second Suite in F by Gustav Holst, and another older work by notable composer Charles Ives, “Old Home Days.”

Graduate student Amanda Bruner of Little Rock, Arkansas, will conduct “Rhosymedre” by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Concert tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and $3 for students and youth. Call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit sfasu.edu/boxoffice for tickets. For additional information, contact the SFA School of Music at (936) 468-4602.

A newly formed partnership between global bedding manufacturer Temper Sealy International and Stephen F. Austin State University’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture promises to make progress toward the company’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality in its global operations by 2040 while giving SFA students access to hundreds of acres of living labs to reforest and manage.

Partnership in the initiative also sets the college up to fund future scholarships, assistantships and professional development for faculty members.

“SFA forestry has been cooperating for more than 20 years with private industry to implement carbon sequestration through reforestation and forest management, which has substantially benefited the college by providing experiential learning opportunities, research sites and financial support,” said Dr. Hans Williams, dean of the Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture. “This initiative with Temper Sealy is a great opportunity to continue to expand SFA forestry’s knowledge and capacity for carbon sequestration and reforestation while providing many other educational, environmental and financial benefits to SFA, Temper Sealy and society in general.”

For the initiative, Temper Sealy purchased 695 acres in Rusk County previously used for cattle farming with the goal of reforesting the land with more than 345,000 pine and hardwood trees. In a memo to company employees announcing the partnership with SFA, Scott Thompson, Temper Sealy president and CEO, estimated that this project will offset 45,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions once trees mature and help the company achieve 7% of its target goal.

“As the land’s new stewards, we will focus not only on carbon sequestration but also on the health of the land. That means considering what we plant and when we plant it, and preserving what is already there and thriving,” Thompson said. “Our dedication to corporate sustainability aligns with our objective to provide high-quality sleep products in an environmentally responsible manner that contributes to a more sustainable future. I’m so proud of the work we’re doing and our incredible partners at SFA forestry.”

SFA Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture faculty members, working closely with students, will be the lead forestland managers for the property, for which responsibilities include regularly reporting to Temper Sealy on the carbon stored on the site. Eventually, carbon monitoring will include carbon stored in long-term forest products after timber harvesting.

Initial soil sampling and planning for reforestation are already ongoing, and reforestation of the site is planned for winter 2024-25. Faculty and students also will have access to the property for additional teaching, learning and research.

“Working toward carbon neutrality can lead to operational innovations that result in benefits to the economy and support sustainable natural resources management,” said Jason Grogan, research associate in SFA’s forestry program. “The concepts of sustainable natural resources management are important for our students to understand and are interwoven throughout the curriculum for all SFA forestry and agriculture programs. Many organizations have implemented practices to reduce, eliminate or offset carbon emissions to mitigate climate change. Sequestration of carbon through reforestation is one of the tools used to support carbon neutrality efforts and provides numerous other environmental benefits.”

Such direct collaboration with Temper Sealy uniquely positions the Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture to support “experienced-based student learning that will aid faculty in preparing the next generation of society-ready professionals, support forest resources research that will contribute to knowledge and benefit society while meeting the company’s commendable goal of being responsible stewards of our environment,” Williams added.

For information on SFA’s Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, visit sfasu.edu/atcofa.

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 37 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.

By Christine Broussard, assistant director for strategic communications at Stephen F. Austin State University

Six Stephen F. Austin State University faculty members recently were selected to receive the university’s inaugural Service Excellence Awards.

Since 1994, SFA has recognized faculty contributions to teaching with the Teaching Excellence Award, with one recipient from each of the university’s six colleges and one nontenure track recipient from the Faculty Senate. This year, the program expanded to include the Scholarly Excellence and Service Excellence awards to complement the longstanding Teaching Excellence Award.

The Service Excellence Award recognizes the voluntary activities performed by the faculty members who, usually behind the scenes, help the institution function as a first-rate post-secondary institution, said Dr. Christopher McKenna, associate professor of business communication and legal studies and 2022-23 Faculty Senate chair who helped generate the proposal for the new awards.

“The Service Excellence and Scholarship Excellence awards complement the traditional award that recognized teaching excellence,” McKenna said. “Service and scholarship have traditionally gone unrecognized at the university level, even though they represent half of the activities expected of faculty members. Not recognizing the exceptional performers in these areas while focusing solely on teaching excellence represented an oversight that ignored many critical contributions to the SFA community.”

Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture

Dr. Erin Brown, a professor of agriculture and coordinator of SFA’s Beef Center, has been an educator at SFA since 2005.

A native of Seguin, Brown has served in numerous service projects and volunteer activities, such as the university’s Purple Premium Cattle Sale, Breakfast at the Farm and cattle artificial insemination clinics. She has judged at livestock events, organized showmanship clinics and livestock skillathon camps, hosted service-learning opportunities for her courses, and served various roles with the Nacogdoches County Extension Office and Texas National FFA Organization.

Driven by a desire to share her passion for agriculture, Brown’s expertise and courses focus on beef cattle and nutrition. She prioritizes hands-on approaches and multiple courses with service-learning projects and courses with real-world situations in her curriculum.

“What most excites me as an educator is to hear from former students,” Brown said. “The moments when you learn that all of the lessons finally connect for them — the ‘now I understand’ moments — is what makes this an exciting job.”

Brown also is a member of the Graduate Council, Core Curriculum Advisory Committee and Institutional Animal Use and Care Committee; serves as a College Day faculty participant; and recently served as interim chair of the Department of Agriculture.

“Dr. Brown has a long-standing, demonstrable record of exemplary service to the profession, the Department of Agriculture, and the college,” said Dr. Hans Williams, dean of the college. “Her service to the beef cattle profession includes outreach through presentations and workshops on the latest technology and management innovations.”

College of Liberal and Applied Arts

Kristin Bailey-Wallace is an assistant professor and advisor, and she has held various roles in SFA’s School of Social Work since 2009.

A Nacogdoches native, Bailey-Wallace has served rural Texas communities as a licensed baccalaureate social worker for 22 years, working in hospice and long-term residential care for older adults and people with disabilities before she transitioned to higher education.

Bailey-Wallace is active in leadership and service with local, state and national organizations. Since COVID-19, she has emphasized development and sustainability of the Student Association of Social Workers, the National Alliance on Mental Illness Nacogdoches and the National Rural Social Work Caucus.

“The Service Excellence Award resonates with the mission and vision statements for SFA, and I am fortunate to work in a program, school, college and university system that values and promotes excellence in service,” Bailey-Wallace said. “My service engagements are balanced with teaching and advising responsibilities, and it is a pleasure to connect Bachelor of Social Work students and colleagues with meaningful community partnerships and service-learning opportunities.”

Bailey-Wallace teaches courses throughout the BSW program with an emphasis on the social welfare policy sequence, human behavior, introduction to the profession, seminar field instruction and macro social work practice.

“Being an educator has given me opportunities to engage in research projects, teaching adventures and meaningful service interactions with the university and the rural community,” Bailey-Wallace said. “I enjoy collaborating with students and community partners for community service-learning opportunities.”

College of Sciences and Mathematics

Dr. Sarah Stovall is a professor of mathematics and coordinator of administration in the college.

“I am honored and humbled to be recognized for the Service Excellence Award,” Stovall said.

In her 24 years as an educator at SFA, Stovall’s excitement comes from seeing the spark of understanding when a student makes connections.

“Understanding is addictive. My classroom practice is less about teaching and more about coaching students to learn how to learn,” she said. “My goal is that when our students leave the university, they will not need a teacher because they know how to use resources, to read critically and to gauge their own understanding.”

Stovall, who grew up about 10 miles west of Nacogdoches in Alazan, realized education was her ideal career path six weeks into her first semester of teaching at SFA. While at SFA, she has taught liberal arts mathematics, courses to prepare elementary school teachers, college algebra, trigonometry, analytic geometry, precalculus, calculus one and two, a methods of proof class, linear algebra, abstract algebra, college geometry and number theory.

Stovall earned a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from SFA in 1991, a Master of Arts in mathematics from The University of Texas at Austin in 1995, and a doctoral degree in mathematics from Texas A&M University in 2001.

James I. Perkins College of Education

Dr. Rachel Jumper, an associate professor in human development and family studies, has been an educator at SFA for nine years.

A Nacogdoches native, Jumper serves on a number of committees at various levels. She’s a member of the University Graduate Council, program coordinator for the family sciences major and the human sciences master’s degree programs, board member for the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Texas affiliate and the Texas Council on Family Relations, and former board member of the Court Appointed State Advocates of Deep East Texas.

“I’m excited, humbled and honored to have been chosen as the first recipient of this award from the Perkins College of Education,” Jumper said. “This award is very validating of the work and passion I have put into my time at SFA. I take a lot of pride in the work I do, and the service I engage in as part of my work is a large piece of where I spend my time and energy. Service benefits people in a very direct way, so I feel a deep sense of gratitude to have my service work acknowledged.”

According to Jumper, she has developed the fundamental goal of ensuring that students are introduced to relevant information in a way that fosters their internal motivation to learn.

“One of the most effective tools I have found for encouraging this process is through service learning, where students experience the benefits of working in their local community,” Jumper said. “Students in the family science major study families throughout the lifespan, so service learning is an important part of our curriculum.”

Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts

Dr. Claire Murphy, an assistant professor and program coordinator of music education, has worked in the School of Music since 2019. She also serves on numerous committees from the departmental to university level.

“I am deeply honored to receive this award and represent the Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts, which is made up of incredibly hard-working, dedicated and supportive faculty, staff and administrators,” Murphy said. “Working to serve and support my students, the School of Music, our college and the university is an absolute joy and privilege.”

Murphy discovered her desire to teach after directing a children’s choir during her undergraduate studies. The experience offered a realization that music education was her calling and led to a career of teaching all levels from elementary school to higher education.

A native of Farmville, North Carolina, Murphy specializes in music education and teacher preparation and teaches a variety of undergraduate music education, education and graduate music education courses. Murphy’s main focus is getting the students actively engaged in the learning process through creative instructional strategies and meaningful experiences.

“Working with pre-service teachers and helping them find their passion and joy for teaching and student success through music is what excites me most,” she said. “I enjoy being part of their music education journey and seeing what positive impacts they will make in the lives of their future students, in their classrooms and in music education.”

Nelson Rusche College of Business

Dr. Ryan Phelps is an associate professor of economics and finance and has been an educator at SFA since 2007.

A native of Oxford, Michigan, Phelps has played an integral role in services at the university and community levels. Along with raising external funds of more than $100,000 for various scholar programs, awards and reading groups, he has initiated student engagement programs, created study abroad opportunities and served as a board member for the Regional East Texas Health Network in Nacogdoches, among many other initiatives.

“I am both humbled and encouraged by this recognition,” Phelps said. “I am humbled to have my efforts singled out because of all of the great things happening at the Rusche College of Business. Also, the most impressive initiatives that I have touched on required the efforts and talents of many others — faculty, staff, donors and students have all pitched in. Finally, none of it would matter without student buy-in. I want everyone who contributed to my recent service efforts to know that I am perpetually grateful for them.”

Phelps teaches macroeconomics and applied statistics courses, and he co-created and co-leads the Discovering Business Abroad course. In his time as an educator, he has learned the best results stem from student interest.

“I am constantly trying to gauge students’ level of understanding,” Phelps said. “They often find this process annoying, but I am a big believer in learning through effort. Active learning and learning by doing loom large in my courses.”

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 37 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.

By University Marketing Communications