Everything Nac

During a one-day special-called meeting, the Stephen F. Austin State University Board of Regents selected Kirksey Architecture to create a new forestry, agriculture and interdisciplinary facility and promoted Piero Fenci, professor of art, to professor emeritus.

Regents awarded a contract for an initial amount not to exceed $5.6 million to architectural engineering firm Kirksey Architecture for designing SFA’s new forestry, agriculture and interdisciplinary facility at the Todd Agricultural Research Center. Kirksey Architecture built the Cole STEM Building and is overseeing renovations to the Griffith Fine Arts Building.

In 2021, the 87th Texas Legislature approved $45 million in capital construction assistance projects funding for SFA to build a new forestry and agriculture facility. As part of system affiliation, The University of Texas System offered another $35 million for a total of $80 million to build SFA’s new forestry, agriculture and interdisciplinary facility.

Also during the board meeting, Dr. Steve Westbrook, SFA president, presented the recommendation promoting Fenci to professor emeritus.

“It would really be impossible to measure the impact that Piero has had on hundreds of students during his time here,” Westbrook said.

Fenci, who is a Micky Elliott College of Fine Arts Dean’s Circle Endowed Professor award recipient, has been with SFA since 1975 and has distinguished himself as both an artist and an educator. His ceramic vessels have been featured in Ceramics Monthly, American Ceramics, The Contemporary Potter, and Clay and Glazes for the Potter. In 2004, he founded the first university program in contemporary ceramic art in the history of northern Mexico at la Universidad Autonoma de Chihuahua in Chihuahua City, and he continues to travel there to mentor the program.

Fenci has earned an international reputation as a ceramist, exhibiting his work from coast to coast and in Italy, Russia and Mexico. He was named “Texas Master” by the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, becoming the fourth person (and the first ceramist) in the state to be honored with the award.

“Thank you to the board and the university for making it possible for me to have a glorious career here in Nac,” said Fenci, who is scheduled to retire Aug. 31.

“I am not leaving, though,” he added. “I love this emeritus position because I can continue to mentor my students. I am here and will continue to be supportive of you all. Just give me a holler.”

Fenci lives and shares a studio with his sculptor wife, Elizabeth Akamatsu. His work is represented in private and public collections, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art, Alfred, New York; and in the Tyler Museum of Art, Tyler. His latest exhibition, “Grand Voyage: The Art of Piero Fenci,” runs through September at Dallas’ Museum of Biblical Art.

For more information, visit sfasu.edu/regents.

The Stephen F. Austin State University Board of Regents today accepted the May 31 retirement of President Steve Westbrook and named Gina Oglesbee, vice president for finance and administration, as interim president beginning June 1. Oglesbee will serve as interim president until a new president is named. She will not be a candidate for the permanent position.

“The SFA community has worked with Gina for almost 20 years,” said SFA Board of Regents Chair Karen Gantt. “She has a deep knowledge of the university’s business operations, finances, culture and traditions, and she is an ideal candidate to lead SFA in its transition to The University of Texas System. Officials from the UT System have also had an opportunity to work with Gina during the past several months and independently expressed their excitement about the possibility of her appointment as interim president.”

Oglesbee participated in the system affiliation evaluation process last fall and has been closely involved with the work surrounding the transfer of management and control of the university into the UT System. She currently serves as a member of the SFA/UT Transition Steering Committee and as a member of the Core Transition Support Team. She was the chief audit executive at SFA for 17 years (2005-2022) before being named as the vice president for finance and administration in April 2022. Oglesbee is a certified public accountant and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from The University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Public Administration from SFA.

“Stephen F. Austin State University’s transition into the UT System is proceeding exceedingly well, and we’re delighted that Ms. Oglesbee has agreed to take the leadership role at this critical time,” said UT System Board of Regents Chairman Kevin Eltife. “Everyone with whom we have worked, from Chair Gantt and the SFA board to President Westbrook and the entire SFA university community, has contributed tirelessly to make this transition a success.”

“As the transition work continues and we prepare for a new permanent president, we are delighted to have such a strong partner to oversee campus operational and partnership activities. I know from firsthand experience that Gina has provided exceptional leadership since the beginning of the negotiations and throughout the transition,” said UT System Chancellor James B. Milliken. “We are deeply grateful she has agreed to assume the interim presidency at this time.”

“I have worked with Gina during her entire tenure at SFA. Her knowledge of the university and the surrounding community uniquely qualifies her for this role,” SFA President Steve Westbrook said. “Her in-depth knowledge of the affiliation evaluation process and the transition work that has been underway over the past few months, as well as her established relationships with key UT System executives, will be highly beneficial as the university’s transition into the system proceeds over the coming months while the presidential search is underway.”

The search for the next president will be conducted by the UT Board of Regents following legislative approval for SFA’s affiliation with the system. That legislation unanimously passed both chambers of the Texas Legislature in April and awaits Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature. A presidential search advisory committee will begin its work in the near future.

“It is an honor to serve as the interim president during this historic time with the transition to The University of Texas System and the centennial celebration,” Oglesbee said. “I appreciate the support and trust of the SFA Board of Regents and Chancellor Milliken. I am optimistic and excited for SFA’s future and look forward to continuing to work with our faculty and staff for the success of our students.”

Stephen F. Austin State University’s SFA Gardens will host a houseplant and succulent summer sale from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 8 at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center greenhouse, located at 2900 Raguet St.

The sale will feature succulents, cacti and houseplants of various varieties, plus a small assortment of a few other plant types. This sale will be a much smaller event than the SFA Gardens semi-annual plant sales and will offer a specific selection of plants intended for indoor or special care.

Limited parking will be available at the PNPC. Visitors are encouraged to arrive at or after 8 a.m. when the doors will open.

For more information, visit the SFA Gardens Facebook page, call (936) 468-4404 or email sfagardens@sfasu.edu.

The Stephen F. Austin State University Foundation announced its Faculty Achievement Award recipients for 2023. Dr. Deb Scott, professor in the School of Music, was presented the Faculty Achievement Award for research and creativity, and Dr. Jeremy Stovall, professor in the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, was presented the Faculty Achievement Award for teaching.

As an expression of its support for excellence in teaching, the SFASU Foundation board of trustees established these two awards in 1994 to honor outstanding faculty members each year in recognition of innovation and/or excellence in teaching, research and creative activity.

“I’m deeply honored to be chosen for this award,” Scott said. “So many of my colleagues across the university are doing incredible work, so it is particularly meaningful. This is one of the biggest highlights of my career, and I’m grateful to the SFASU Foundation.”

Scott is professor of trombone and bass trombone at SFA. She teaches and performs internationally and is a performing artist for Rath Trombones, which are custom trombones created in England by Michael Rath. She is also the director of the International Trombone Festival’s composers workshop.

Scott is a performing member of Monarch Brass, a group touted as the best female brass players in the world. She has also been a featured artist at Trombonanza in Argentina as well as other international venues. Scott has performed many times as a soloist and within groups at the International Trombone Festival, and under her direction, the SFA Trombone Octet has been featured at the festival twice. She also performs regularly throughout North America with her trio, TexiCali.

Stovall is the Bone Hill Foundation Distinguished Professor of Silviculture at SFA. He teaches dendrology and a variety of courses focused on silviculture and is actively involved in research focused on invasive species management, mineland reclamation and bottomland hardwood regeneration dynamics. Stovall also advises the Sylvans, SFA’s timbersports team that has won eight of the past nine annual Southern Forestry Conclaves.

“I am fortunate to get to work with our SFA forestry students in the classroom and in the forest every week,” Stovall said. “They’ve provided many great ideas over the years that have made me a better teacher. I am grateful for my students and the SFASU Foundation for this fantastic recognition.”

Since 2010, Stovall’s research has resulted in more than 20 peer-reviewed publications, $1.5 million in extramural research funding, 70 conference presentations, and the mentorship of more than a dozen graduate students. He has chaired the SFA Faculty Senate and the Lufkin-Nacogdoches Chapter of the Society of American Foresters and has served on the board of the Texas Forestry Association. He currently manages the Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture’s greenhouses.