Everything Nac

Prospective students and their families now have three options for exploring the Stephen F. Austin State University campus with a new, revamped slate of Showcase SFA events.

In addition to the university’s long-standing Showcase Saturday, which invites future college students to experience a taste of campus life through an action-packed open house event, SFA also has added Showcase Preview and Virtual Showcase.

“Our university vision focuses on preparing students for bright futures through hands-on learning, and that needs to start before they even call our university home,” said SFA President Dr. Scott Gordon. “Showcase SFA invites them and their families to experience the campus in whichever format works best for their schedules and comfort levels.”

During the past year and a half, SFA’s Office of Admissions has slowly adapted Showcase Saturday in light of the pandemic. Having first paused it completely in spring 2020, it switched to a virtual format last summer. Now, the revamped Showcase SFA will offer both in-person and virtual showcases.

“Our new Showcase SFA slate of events puts a flexible twist on our traditional and well-known Showcase Saturday,” said Erma Nieto Brecht, SFA executive director of enrollment management. “Those wanting to experience SFA on a weekday are invited to the Showcase Preview, which is in-person but smaller than the full Showcase Saturday; and those who aren’t comfortable visiting in-person or who may be limited to travel are invited to our Virtual Showcase. We’re excited to offer a range of ways to feature SFA’s programs, services and beautiful campus.”

SFA’s Showcase Preview will take place from 9:30 a.m. to noon Oct. 11 on the SFA campus. It will feature academic and student resource fairs, admissions sessions, a mock classroom experience, and residence hall tours.

As a weekday event, prospective students and their families also will have the opportunity to see the campus in action. Smaller than a Showcase Saturday but larger than a campus tour experience, Showcase Preview is the right fit for families looking to make a quick trip to the piney woods.

Virtual Showcase will be offered from 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 22. The virtual event provides participants a unique space to interact with academic departments and student resources, showcasing the ways in which SFA is meeting the needs of today’s student in a highly technological world.

Showcase Saturday will be from 1 to 5 p.m. Nov. 13 on the SFA campus. The day will be packed full of activities, from optional campus and residence hall tours to a “build your own schedule” option with academic and student service fairs; financial aid, admissions and student engagement presentations; facility tours and more.

For more information or to register for Showcase SFA events, visit sfasu.edu/showcase.

By Christine Broussard, marketing communications coordinator at Stephen F. Austin State University

“Spotlight on Women Composers” will showcase works written by living female composers in a recital at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 29, in Cole Concert Hall on the Stephen F. Austin State University campus.

The recital features SFA School of Music faculty member Jacob Walburn, assistant professor of trumpet, in collaboration with Thomas Nixon, piano, performing works for trumpet written by contemporary female composers. In making program selections, Walburn said he realized his past recitals included very few compositions written by women.

“I wanted to be much more inclusive in my programming,” he said, “so I did some research and found several great pieces by female composers. With the exception of the very last piece on the program, every composition on the recital was written by a living female composer.”

The recital will open with a spirited piece for solo trumpet, “Fanfare for the Women” by Libby Larsen, followed by “Saltarello” by Lauren Bernofsky. “This is a lively, one-movement piece that features great interplay between the trumpet and piano,” Walburn said. The next piece on the concert, “Totem Voices” by Catherine McMichael, is “a really exciting multi-movement work where each movement is based on a different animal,” Walburn explained.

Other program selections include “Framed” by English composer Cecilia McDowall in which each of the four movements is based on different works of art, followed by “Trumpet Songs” by Jennifer Higdon. “These short movements are very quiet and reflective – one of the hallmarks of Higdon’s writing,” Walburn said.

The recital concludes with Erik Morales’ exciting tango “Passion Dance.”

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

For the second consecutive year, Stephen F. Austin State University’s student chapter of The Wildlife Society was named Student Chapter of the Year by the national office of The Wildlife Society.

“It’s a great feeling of satisfaction,” said Cassandra Kapp, SFA forestry student and student chapter president. “We worked so hard and didn’t think it was possible to win it again.”

Kapp credits winning the award to the chapter’s ability to recruit, engage and retain members despite complications from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

During the previous year, chapter members conducted a number of volunteer and professional development activities, including spotlight surveys for alligators and deer to help determine population density, as well as habitat improvement projects on private properties.

In the spring, the chapter traveled to South Texas where they worked with individuals from the East Foundation and the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute to tag and collect data on deer for use in an ongoing research project.

“The group of students who went on the deer capture trip became really close,” Kapp said. “Traveling with people, working side by side, the fireside dinners at night — it really makes a difference.”

Kapp said she hopes to expand similar opportunities to more students.

“This national recognition for the second year in a row is not only a testament to the hard work and passion of our students but also is reflection of the quality of the forest wildlife management program at SFA,” said Dr. Jessica Glasscock, SFA assistant professor of forest wildlife management and faculty advisor.

To learn more about SFA’s forest wildlife program and similar course offerings, visit atcofa.sfasu.edu.

Story by Sarah Fuller, outreach coordinator for Stephen F. Austin State University’s Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture. Contact information: (936) 468-1185 or fullersa@sfasu.edu.

Dr. Brian Oswald, Joe C. Denman Distinguished Professor of Forestry at Stephen F. Austin State University, received the Dwight Patterson Alumnus of the Year Award from Northern Arizona University in recognition of the outstanding success he has achieved throughout his professional career.

Oswald joined SFA in 1995, and since that time has built a career exemplified by domestic and international teaching and research. During the past nine years, he has led SFA forestry undergraduate and graduate researchers in collecting fire fuel load data on behalf of public safety agencies in the Netherlands. This key information continues to assist the country as it develops wildfire spread models that can predict wildfire behavior. Closer to home, Oswald leads additional restoration, fuel loading and monitoring research throughout the U.S. national forests and grasslands.

Oswald is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Association for Fire Ecology Presidential Award, the Society of American Foresters’ Carl A. Schenck Award for Outstanding Forestry Education, the SFASU Foundation’s Faculty Achievement for Research, and he has held the title of Regents Professor, the highest honor SFA may bestow upon a faculty member. Additionally, Oswald served as president of the Association for Fire Ecology and actively contributes to the organization.

He received a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from Michigan State University, a Master of Science in Forestry from Northern Arizona University and a doctoral degree in forestry from the University of Idaho.

The Stephen F. Austin State University Gerald W. Schlief School of Accountancy within the Rusche College of Business recently awarded the Sammie Smith Professorship to assistant accounting professor Dr. Stephanie Ross. The new professorship was created through an endowment by Professor Emeritus Dr. Sammie Smith.

The purpose of the endowment is to retain and attract quality faculty to the Gerald W. Schlief School of Accountancy. Dr. Kelly Noe, director, says it will also have a positive impact on students.

“Awarding this honor to Stephanie helps our school retain valuable talent by offering a more competitive salary, and this in turn assures the best student experience,” Noe said. “We are so grateful for the continued support of our programs. Sammie’s endowment has made this professorship possible.”

Smith – who spent 46 years in higher education, 26 of them at SFA, and 15 of those as chair of the department – gifted the endowment with the goal of providing opportunity for professors.

“I firmly believe that the most important asset that any university has is its faculty, and I will do anything I can to help in recruitment and retention – and encourage others to do the same,” said Smith.

Ross said she is grateful for and appreciates the award, adding that her teaching style and goals demonstrate the quality of professors the endowment works to retain.

“Accounting isn’t just math,” she said. “My goal as a professor is to increase the students’ motivation and learning abilities by showing them that accounting is more like solving a puzzle. By incorporating critical drivers such as concern, competence, and clarification into my teaching style, I am able to structure the class in a manner that allows for the comprehension of a subject that is often considered dry and difficult.”

Smith is also working on funding another professorship in accountancy in the name of his wife, Beverly, who is an SFA accounting alum and current university employee in the office of the vice president for finance and administration. Smith’s goal is to fully fund that award by January 2023.

For more information about the Sammie Smith Professorship Award, contact Dr. Kelly Noe at noekelly@sfasu.edu or (936) 468-1530.

By Richard Massey, Senior Marketing Communications Specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University

Stephen F. Austin State University’s SFA Gardens will host the monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Oct. 14 in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, located at 2900 Raguet St.

Dr. Timothy P. Hartmann, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Specialist from College Station, will present “All You Ever Wanted to Know About Growing Kiwifruit.”

Hartmann received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in horticultural science from Texas A&M University. He has served as a program specialist for the College Station extension service since 2014.

Hartmann’s professional endeavors center on landscape water conservation, but he also is involved with trialing edible crops for the landscape and for propagation. His interest in rare and exotic fruit crops is perhaps his greatest strength and led him to his five-year collaboration with SFA and focus on the adaptation of golden kiwifruit as a potential new fruit crop for Texas. He also is conducting similar research on feijoas, pineapple guavas, apricots and pomegranates.

The Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series is held the second Thursday of each month and includes a rare plant raffle after the program. The lecture is free and open to the public, but donations to the Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series fund are always appreciated.

Parking is available at the PNPC and Raguet Elementary School, located at 2428 Raguet St.

For more information, call (936) 468-4129, or email sfagardens@sfasu.edu. To view the full slate of SFA Gardens events, visit sfasu.edu/sfagardens.