Everything Nac

Erik Ordaz of Nacogdoches has been selected for inclusion in a biennial exhibition showcasing artists in the mid-South. He is among 35 artists selected for the 2023 Irene Rosenzweig Biennial Juried Exhibition, organized by The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas. His selected work is “N.I.N.J.A.,” ceramic, 16 inches by 16 inches by 16 inches, 2023.

Ordaz is the exhibition coordinator for The Cole Art Center @ The Old Opera House and a visiting lecturer at Stephen F. Austin State University’s School of Art. He earned a Master of Fine Arts from SFA, and received a post-graduate teaching fellowship from the university. He has also been an artist-in-residence at Penland School of Craft in North Carolina.

Born and raised in Mexico City, Ordaz earned a Bachelor in Industrial Design degree at Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana Xochimilco in Mexico. Producing both functional and sculptural ceramics works, his creative research and practice live in a constant and fluent intersection between art, craft and design, he said. Exhibition accomplishments include solo, invitational and juried exhibitions, and his works are in public and private collections in the United States and Mexico.

The Rosenzweig exhibition welcomes submissions from artists in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Artwork in traditional and digital forms are accepted, including paintings, drawings, original prints, fiber art, ceramics, sculpture, photography, video and digital work.

The exhibition will be on view in ASC’s William H. Kennedy Jr. Gallery through Saturday, Oct. 14. Admission to ASC’s galleries is free. The exhibition is supported in part by The Arts & Science Center Endowment Fund and the Irene Rosenzweig Endowment Fund.

For more information, contact Kevin Haynie, ASC’s curator of collections and exhibitions, at khaynie@asc701.org or call 870-536-3375. Visit the exhibition webpage at asc701.org/rosenzweig.

Cutline: This piece by Erik Ordaz, “N.I.N.J.A.,” ceramic, 16 inches by 16 inches by 16 inches, 2023, is one of 35 selected for the 2023 Irene Rosenzweig Biennial Juried Exhibition hosted by The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas.

Dr. Michara DeLaney-Fields, chief diversity officer at Stephen F. Austin State University, was one of three dozen higher education leaders from across the country chosen to participate in the 2023-24 Executive Leadership Academy.

ELA is a yearlong program jointly sponsored by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the Council of Independent Colleges and the American Academic Leadership Institute. The selective program prepares experienced provosts and vice presidents to become successful presidents or move to positions of greater responsibility.

DeLaney-Fields said her SFA mentors, including Dr. Steve Westbrook, former SFA president, and Gina Oglesbee, SFA interim president, helped prepare her for this opportunity.

“I am immensely grateful to Dr. Steve Westbrook for his endorsement and leadership throughout the year,” she said. “I also appreciate Gina Oglesbee for her mentorship throughout the process thus far. I am humbled by the opportunity to expand my leadership journey in higher education with mentors and leaders nationwide.”

The ELA program includes an individualized professional experience plan designed to fill gaps in the participant’s skills and experience; mentorship by the participant’s current president and the ELA program director; individualized executive coaching; and peer-to-peer participant-led webinars, regional gatherings and activities.

“Through this experience, I hope to gain the in-depth knowledge necessary to continue anchoring and evolving others to grow and succeed,” DeLaney-Fields said.

ELA participants attended their first seminar last month and will return to Washington, D.C., in June 2024 for a second seminar.

“It is more essential than ever that future leaders are well-equipped to serve our growing diverse student population,” said Mildred García, AASCU president. “The Executive Leadership Academy offers a critical opportunity to strengthen higher education’s leadership pipeline by bringing together equity-minded, purpose-driven leaders who share a common goal of being in service to students.”

To view members of the 2023-24 ELA cohort, visit the ELA website.

By University Marketing Communications

Stephen F. Austin State University’s SFA Gardens will host the monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Aug. 10 in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center.

Denyse Cummins, retired extension horticulture agent from the Louisiana State University AgCenter, will present “All About Bulbs.”

Cummins, who lives in Shreveport, Louisiana, is a lecturer for the Louisiana Farm to School Program. She also has been a commercial cut flower grower, a botanical illustrator and an indigo dyer.

“I’ve been a lifelong lover of bulbs since age 9, when the first pink surprise lily popped up in my family’s new garden,” Cummins said.

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 lecture series fund are always appreciated.

Parking is available at the PNPC, 2900 Raguet St., or Raguet Elementary School, 2708 Raguet St.

For more information, email sfagardens@sfasu.edu.

By University Marketing Communications