Everything Nac

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.

Nearly 90% of Stephen F. Austin State University’s May 2022 graduating class reported positive career outcomes within six months of graduation, according to a class-specific survey conducted by the university’s Center for Career and Professional Development.

The First Destination Survey is used to capture information from SFA’s new graduates within their first six months after graduation. Specifically, it looks at information related to post-graduation next steps, including whether they are working, continuing education, joining the military or another option.

The survey is meant to provide clear, concise and consistent data on the outcomes associated with SFA students as well as the national outcomes associated with a college education, according to an article on the Handshake website, the platform CCPD uses to connect students with industry professionals. For this reason, the questions in the survey are compliant with the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

The FDS is one way SFA tracks the success of students and those who help prepare them for the job market, said CCPD director Brent McLemore, “allowing us to tell their stories more completely, celebrate accordingly, and improve more effectively.”

Between self-reported student data and the CCPD’s post-graduation knowledge rate, overall survey results account for 51% of the May 2022 SFA graduating class. This is just below the previous year’s national overall rate of 55% and higher than the southwest U.S. average of 47%. The southwest region includes Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arizona.

From SFA’s results, 60% marked themselves as working, 29% are pursuing some form of continuing education, and less than 1% had joined the military. Of those within the working category, the average annual salary reported by SFA alumni hired within six months of graduation was $56,309. For those hired within the same time span at an hourly rate, the average salary was $44,393.

Final national results for 2022 won’t be released until the coming fall. However, McLemore and other SFA administrators were excited to see that SFA’s reported employment rate within six months of graduation was 5% higher than the 2021 national average and 14% higher than the 2021 southwest U.S. average.

“These trends are reflective of the good work our faculty members put in each day to educate our students,” McLemore said. “Their work results in students who are competitive in the job market, bringing significant value to it as potential employees. Our role at CCPD is to help students understand and communicate their value to potential employers and to facilitate connection for our students and employers in both virtual and physical spaces.”

To learn more about the CCPD, including its career exploration and employer connection services, visit sfasu.edu/ccpd.

By Christine Broussard, assistant director for strategic communications at Stephen F. Austin State University