Everything Nac

When Rachel Rucker a was top student at Jersey Village High School in Houston, she attended the Undergraduate Research Conference, an annual event that honors Stephen F. Austin State University’s brightest from all six of its colleges.

Watching older collegians present their work in front of their families, professors and peers, it all seemed so impressive and unobtainable. The thought crossed the teenager’s mind: How do I get from where I am to where they are?

That question has finally been answered.

Now a junior majoring in data analytics, Rucker, representing the Rusche College of Business, produced a project that won first place. Using U.S. Census demographics and 2016 county-level election results by the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, she wrote a research paper that explains why the states of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin going “blue” for President Joe Biden in 2020 should have been more expected, even though former President Donald Trump turned those states “red” in 2016.

Rucker was selected by faculty mentor and economics professor Dr. Ryan Phelps, who helped model the mountains of data used for the study, which was undertaken after the election.

“Our model correctly predicts that Pennsylvania and Wisconsin would go blue, and it predicted a Democratic shift in Arizona,” Phelps and Rucker concluded. In the future, there could be yet another study incorporating 2020 results, which could provide “prediction errors that can be used to scrutinize claims of large-scale election fraud in very particular counties.”

Prior to doing the project, Rucker had already completed, and excelled in, the applied statistics course taught by Phelps. So, when it came time to consider the conference, Phelps knew Rucker had what it took to produce meaningful research.

“I am always on the lookout for students with talent and a strong work ethic,” Phelps said. “Rachel stood out in my online class because of her perfect homework scores and her excellent project grades. Given her passion for current events, I thought that she might like to take a look at the 2020 election. She and I spent many hours of winter break on the paper. She has been an excellent research partner.”

The paper, “County Level Changes Alone Predicted Biden Win in Both Pennsylvania and Wisconsin,” is joined in the winner’s circle by top projects from SFA’s other five colleges and one from Tyler Junior College. While Rucker now gets to enjoy the accolade, the process of researching and writing a winning paper wasn’t easy, especially under Phelps’ exacting standards.

“I went through a lot of red ink and many drafts,” Rucker said.

Rucker came to SFA for the DeWitt School of Nursing. She changed her mind just two days into her first semester, instead pursuing a degree in data analytics. That turned out to be a good choice. Rucker holds a 4.0 GPA, has four scholarships – the Academic Excellence Scholarship, University Scholars Award, the STEM Scholarship, and the Focus POS Systems Scholarship – and works as a tutor for anatomy at the Academic Assistance and Resource Center.

If all goes to plan, she’ll be the first to graduate from the data analytics program when she walks across the stage in May 2022.

Down the road, Rucker certainly has a lot ahead of her, like a dual graduate degree in statistics or economics and law. But for now, winning the research conference feels pretty good.

“This actually proves that I learned a lot in all three of my fields – computer science, statistics and economics,” she said.

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

The Stephen F. Austin State University Board of Regents honored a longtime psychology professor with the designation of Regents Scholar for the 2021-22 academic year.

Dr. Mark Ludorf holds a doctorate in experimental psychology with a specialization in cognition from the University of Kansas, and his research interests include attention, memory, leadership, applied statistics/methodology and technology applications in higher education. He joined the SFA faculty in 1991.

The appointment of Dr. Lorenzo Smith as SFA’s next provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, beginning June 1, was approved by the board. Smith currently serves as professor and dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science at California State University, Sacramento. In addition to a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Smith earned a master’s from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, and a doctorate in engineering mechanics from Michigan State University.

Other appointments approved include Christopher LaHaye as broiler research center supervisor, Angela Johnson as learning experience design specialist in the Center for Teaching and Learning, and Jade Dehaas as lead teacher in SFA’s Early Childhood Laboratory. In athletics, Jackson Smith was appointed as golf assistant coach, and Myles White was appointed as football assistant coach.

Regents approved promotions in the College of Sciences of Mathematics including Brian Barngrover to associate professor and Alyx Frantzen to professor in chemistry and biochemistry. Hector Ochoa was promoted to associate professor in physics, engineering and astronomy; Christopher Ivancic was promoted to associate professor in computer science; and Angela Jones was promoted to associate professor in nursing.

In the James I. Perkins College of Education, Dustin Joubert and Heather Samuelson were promoted to associate professors in kinesiology and health sciences, and Sharon Rice was promoted to assistant professor. In the School of Human Sciences, Darla O’Dwyer was promoted to professor, Jennifer Newquist was promoted to associate professor and Todd Barrios was promoted to clinical instructor III. Tingting Xu was promoted to professor in education studies, and Leah Kahn was promoted to associate professor. In human services and educational leadership, Luis Aguerrevere, Stacy Hendricks, and Raul Prezas were promoted to professor, and Lydia Richardson was promoted to associate professor.

Promotions in the Rusche College of Business included Christopher McKenna and Drew Thornley, associate professors in business communication and legal studies. In management and marketing, Matthew Lindsey was promoted to professor, and Pamela Rogers was promoted to associate professor.

In the College of Liberal and Applied Arts, Lee Payne was promoted to professor of government, Paul Sandul was promoted to professor of history, and Catherine Pearte was promoted to associate professor of psychology. In languages, cultures and communication, Jose Netfali Recinos, Christopher Sams, Ty Spradley, and Louise Stoehr were promoted to professor, and Elizabeth Spradley was promoted to associate professor.

Daniel Anguiano was promoted to associate professor of art in the College of Fine Arts, and Inga Meier was promoted to associate professor of theatre.

In the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, Rebecca Kidd and Yuhui Weng were promoted to associate professors of forestry.

Kyle Ainsworth was promoted to librarian IV, and tenure was awarded to the following faculty members: Daniel Anguiano, art; Brian Barngrover, chemistry and biochemistry; Rochelle Cade and Summer Pannell, human services and educational leadership; James Ewing and Mark Montgomery, education studies; Christopher Ivancic, computer science; Angela Jones, nursing; Dustin Joubert and Heather Samuelson, kinesiology and health science; Rebecca Kidd and Yuhui Weng, forestry; Christopher McKenna and Drew Thornley, business communication and legal studies; Inga Meier, theatre; Michael Murphy, music; Jennifer Newquist, human sciences; Hector Ochoa, physics, engineering and astronomy; Catherine Pearte, psychology; and Pamela Rogers, management and marketing.

Changes of status included Jamyia Barrett, Jamaica Ethington and Christopher Ruth, from hall director to interim area coordinator, residence life; Hollie Smith, from assistant dean of students to interim dean of students, student affairs; Lacey Folsom, from director of student engagement to interim director of student rights and responsibilities; and Michael Walker, from associate professor of psychology to interim Title IX coordinator.

Steve Westbrook, SFA’s former vice president for university affairs, was honored with the title administrator emeritus, and three longtime faculty members were honored with the professor emeritus title: Marsha Bayless, business communication and legal studies; William Clark, mathematics and statistics; and Norm Markworth, physics, engineering and astronomy.

Regents approved the retirements of employees with 123 years of combined service: Susan Dykes, accounting clerk, information technology services; Rodney Bryant, heavy equipment operator, and Mark Holl, grounds and community relations assistant manager, physical plant; and Micky Allen, residence life operation assistant manager.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre opens Jane Martin’s “Talking With …” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 20, in Kennedy Auditorium on the SFA campus for in-person audience performances and virtual performances. Pictured is SFA theatre student Cameron Wall of El Campo in “Rodeo,” one of several monologues in the play that features idiosyncratic characters who amuse, move, frighten and always speak from the depths of their souls. They include a baton twirler, a fundamentalist snake handler, an ex-rodeo rider and a person whose greatest desire is to live in a McDonald’s. The play, which is recommended for mature audiences, will be presented at 7:30 nightly through Saturday, April 24. General ticket prices are: adult, $15; senior (62+), $10; non-SFA student, $10; SFA faculty/staff, $7.50; youth, $7.50; SFA student, $5; virtual access, $15. Purchase tickets/virtual access at https://finearts.sfasu.edu/boxoffice. Seating is limited; face masks are required.