Everything Nac

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Office of Multicultural Affairs will host an event April 21 in recognition and celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month, a national holiday that takes place each May.

This year’s event will give particular attention to acts of violence that have affected the Asian American community specifically during the past year and to honor the lives lost in such attacks.

“In the past, this event has focused on celebrating the success of the Asian American community and highlighting cultural practices and individuals in the Nacogdoches community,” said Kori Lewis, OMA student ambassador. “Due to the widespread acts of hate against the Asian American community, we will be including a compilation of reaction and eye-witness videos on a loop during the event, as well as a memorial table in honor of those lost in the recent attacks in Atlanta, Georgia.”

According to asianpacificheritage.gov, May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japanese to the United States on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad on May 10, 1869. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants.

“The purpose of this commemorative month is to recognize and celebrate the achievements of and progress made by Asian American and Pacific Islanders despite the hardships and tribulations they may face day-to-day,” said La-Meria Seriale, OMA student ambassador. “We also hope to give that community the platform to stand up and be heard.”

The event will feature arts and crafts and informational video projects. Additionally, participants will have opportunities to petition in support of the Asian American and Pacific Islanders community.

The celebration will be from noon to 2 p.m. April 21 in the Baker Pattillo Student Center Spirit Lounge on the SFA campus. The Nacogdoches and SFA communities are invited to attend the come-and-go event. It is free to attend, and registration is not required.

Attendees will be required to abide by SFA’s mask requirement and maintain a safe physical distance from other attendees.

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

Dr. A.C. “Buddy” Himes, dean of the College of Fine Arts at Stephen F. Austin State University, will retire effective May 31 after 47 years of service in both secondary and higher education.

In notifying the dean’s staff and fine arts faculty members last fall of his intended retirement, Himes wrote: “I am grateful to Stephen F. Austin State University for allowing me the honor and privilege to serve as dean of the College of Fine Arts for the past 14 years. I feel that coming together in unity, the university, the faculty and staff, and the community have allowed the college to be taken to the next level multiple times over.

“Reflecting upon my career it is obvious (to me) that every challenge has been met, every goal accomplished, every expectation exceeded, and every vision realized,” he said. “And, now, after 47 years in the profession, this is clearly the ideal time for me to retire.”

SFA President Scott Gordon praised Dr. Himes’ commitment, hard work and vision, noting the thriving and vibrant community created within the SFA College of Fine Arts.

“The leadership he has provided will continue to impact SFA students for years to come, and we are grateful for his accomplishments as dean,” Gordon said. “Dr. Himes has been an asset to our campus and the Nacogdoches community, and we wish him all the best in his retirement.”

Himes came to SFA to serve as the fine arts dean in 2007, moving from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where he was director of the School of Music and head of the Department of Performing Arts in the College of the Arts. There, he was recognized for his oversight of a construction project, doubling the fine arts endowment base, producing a community-based organization dedicated to enhancing scholarships, and attracting nearly $1 million in grants.

Following the same pattern for success, Himes has guided the schools of art, music and theatre at SFA to higher levels of achievement during his 14-year leadership.

Perhaps his greatest accomplishment at SFA is currently being realized and taking shape today before the public eye, its daily evolution apparent at the corner of North Street and East College Street. In 2015, Himes released “The Transformative 2020 Vision,” a five-year plan for a multi-million-dollar project designed to “transform the College of Fine Arts into the best fine arts program in Texas.” The plan led to the approval by the SFA Board of Regents for the $50-million renovation and expansion of the Griffith Fine Arts Building currently underway. Funding was obtained through the issuance of bonds in 2019, and proceeds must be used, in accordance with the bond documents, for construction, renovation and other project-related purposes.

“With these new facilities, the College of Fine Arts will be able to fully alleviate concerns for space, grow to its potential in enrollment, be competitive with similar programs in Texas, and fully capitalize upon student markets for new programs,” Himes said. “As much as the college has grown in enrollment over the past decade, I predict an explosion of new enrollment in fine arts in the next decade, notwithstanding the immediate effects of a pandemic.”

More than two decades in the making, the $50-million Fine Arts Expansion Initiative will include complete renovations to the existing Griffith Fine Arts Building and add accessible parking, a patron drop-off zone (off East College Street) and new construction which will extend the building along North Street nearly to the corner of East College Street. The renovated and expanded state-of-the-art building will include two dance studios, two theatres, an auditorium, recording studio, sound stage, audio and video editing rooms, an art gallery, multiple classrooms, rehearsal facilities, faculty offices and the offices of the dean. The facilities will house the CFA’s sound recording technology, filmmaking, theatre, dance and musical theatre programs.

Following his arrival at SFA, Himes in 2008 established the Dean’s Circle, an external support organization of community members dedicated, in part, to nurturing potential young artists within the College of Fine Arts. The Dean’s Awards include monetary rewards to students to further their educational pursuits. Since 2008, the Dean’s Circle has presented $174,000 in student awards. Additionally, the organization established the first-ever community-established endowed professorship at SFA in 2016.

Himes was instrumental in establishing the Sound Recording Technology program within the School of Music. “I can trace this program back to April of 2007 when I came to interview,” he said. “It began as nothing more than what was known to be a good idea, and a whole lot of faith – no curriculum, no facilities, no equipment and no students. Today, the SRT program is certainly the fastest growing program in the School of Music, and is one of, if not the, fastest growing programs at the entire university.”

Among his other SFA accomplishments are involvement in the restoration of SFA’s bell carillon, creation of three endowed professorships, a permanent endowment for the College of Fine Arts’ generation of $125,000 in unrestricted monies annually, a 23% increase in enrollment within the college, successful advocacy for the new $50-million fine arts expansion underway, construction of 16 new music practice rooms, involvement in the production of the Nacogdoches 1938 documentary film project, and bringing the dance program into the College of Fine Arts.

Throughout his career, Himes has been a sought-after conference presenter and panelist. He is a published author on topics of administrative leadership and teaching effectiveness, and he has served in leadership roles in academic organizations at the national and international levels.

Himes has served his community through active engagement in the Rotary Club, was a founding member of the Nacogdoches Film Festival, and is a member of First United Methodist Church, where he actively engaged in the pipe organ restoration project.

After graduation from college in 1973, Himes began his career as a high school band director in Bluefield, West Virginia.

Himes and his wife, Cindy, plan to stay active in the Nacogdoches community and enjoy their children and grandchildren.

The Stephen F. Austin State University Wind Ensemble will present its final concert of the spring semester in a performance of David Maslanka’s Symphony No. 4. The concert will be a livestreamed event performed at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 22, and accessible at music.sfasu.edu.

Composed in 1993, Symphony No. 4 was commissioned by a consortium of universities including the University of Texas, Michigan State University and SFA, according to Dr. David Campo, director of bands at SFA and of the Wind Ensemble.

In describing the work, Maslanka said the driving force behind Symphony No. 4 was” the spontaneous rise of the impulse to shout for the joy of life.”

“I feel it is the powerful voice of the earth that comes to me from my adopted western Montana and the high plains and mountains of central Idaho,” he said. “My personal experience of the voice is one of being helpless and torn open by the power of the thing that wants to be expressed – the welling-up shout that cannot be denied. I am set aquiver and am forced to shout and sing. The response in the voice of the Earth is the answering shout of thanksgiving and the shout of praise.”

The hymn tune “Old Hundred,” several other hymn tunes, including the Bach chorales “Only Trust in God to Guide You” and “Christ Who Makes Us Holy,” and original melodies that are hymn-like in nature, form the backbone of Symphony No. 4.

“I have used Christian symbols because they are my cultural heritage, but I have tried to move through them to a depth of universal humanness, to an awareness that is not defined by religious label,” Maslanka further explained. “My impulse through this music is to speak to the fundamental human issues of transformation and re-birth in this chaotic time.”

Campo said performing Symphony No. 4 is especially relevant today, “as we emerge from a year that will be remembered as one of the darkest in American history, if not the history of the world.”

“To take the opportunity to ‘shout for the joy of life’ and ‘speak to the fundamental human issue of transformation and re-birth in this chaotic time’ seems both timely and appropriate,” he said.

To access the live virtual concert free of charge, visit music.sfasu.edu the night of the performance. For additional information, contact the School of Music at (936) 468-4602.

The Stephen F. Austin State University School of Theatre’s presentation of the student-directed one-act play “Last Chance,” originally scheduled for Feb. 19 and 20 but postponed because of the winter storm, will now take place April 16 and 17.

Johana Lenington, senior theatre education major from Houston, directs “Last Chance,” written by SFA School of Theatre senior lecturer Jackie Rosenfeld. The play revolves around the lives of a young married couple and issues that develop as a result of alcohol addiction.

The cast includes Terrell junior Ryleigh Compton as Shannon; Midland freshman Zachary Jebsen as Ray; and Little Elm freshman Mariano Aguirre as Dough.

Stage manager is Valeria De La Cruz, Zacatecas, Mexico, senior; scenic designer is Julianna Flores, Pasadena senior; costume designer is Zach White, Buffalo senior; lighting designer is Cynthia Tovar, Southeast Houston junior; sound designer is Salvador Nunez, Plant City, Florida, sophomore; and properties master is Jenna Alley, Kingwood senior.

Transferring to SFA in fall 2019, Lenington has portrayed characters Rose in “Dancing at Lughnasa,” Chloe in “The Curse of Plenty,” Miranda in “The Tempest,” and Mrs. Martin in “The Bald Soprano.” She made her directing debut last fall with “A Perfect Match” by Stariana Johnson. Lenington stated she is “thrilled to have the opportunity to direct ‘Last Chance’ by Jackie Rosenfeld, and I am excited for more directing opportunities in the future.”

Among other plays written by Rosenfeld are “Corner Lot,” “keepingabreast,” “Queen of the Mist” and “Performing Politics.” She is currently working on a play titled “Rodeo Rose.”

The play will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 16, and at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 17, in Regents Suite A in the Baker Pattillo Student Center on the SFA campus. The show will also be livestreamed.

Tickets are $4. Seating is limited, and face coverings are required. Social distancing protocols will be observed. To purchase tickets or virtual access, visit the SFA Fine Arts Box Office online at boxoffice.sfasu.edu or call (936) 468-6407.